The Price of Love
by elle1364
Summary: Completed: Sequel to The Future Starts Now. Elizabeth and Conner continue facing realities of becoming parents while Jessica and Jeremy are forced to deal with something they never expected to happen. Contains some traumatic stuff, don't read if abuse is
1. Consequences

Chapter One  
  
Consequences  
  
Note: This is a continuation of The Future Starts Now; so don't read it  
  
unless you know what happens.  
  
Elizabeth shot a quick glance at Conner as the Mustang rolled to a stop  
  
at the red light. So far, the trip home from the appointment had been a  
  
silent one. Elizabeth wasn't sure what to say, or what to do. Having  
  
twins would change her entire pregnancy, and the plans that they had made for the future.  
  
She couldn't take it any longer. "Conner, what are we going to do?"  
  
Conner sighed, and looked at her quickly. "I don't know baby."  
  
Elizabeth frowned. Even though they wouldn't have used it as an option  
  
anyway, Dr. Zimmerman had told them that Elizabeth was too far along to have an abortion. "Neither do I. Our choices are pretty limited."  
  
"I know," Conner said, shifting into third as the light turned green,  
  
and pulling onto his street. "We basically have three options. Keeping  
  
both babies, giving them both up for adoption, or keeping one and giving the other up for adoption."  
  
"Not the third one." Elizabeth said immediately. "Whatever happens,  
  
those babies are going to stay together."  
  
Conner nodded, pulling into the driveway. He killed the engine and then  
  
unbuckled his seat belt. He turned and hugged his girlfriend. "I'm  
  
behind you no matter what you chose to do. I'm also willing to be a father to both babies."  
  
Elizabeth leaned against him, and cocked her head up so she could she  
  
his face. "I'm willing to be the mother to both babies."  
  
Conner nodded, and ran his hand through her blonde hair, then moved his head down to kiss her. "I hope that our little girl will take after her  
  
mom." He said, pulling Elizabeth back so he could see her.  They'd also  
  
found out that Elizabeth was carrying a girl and a boy.  
  
Elizabeth smiled. "Thanks. So of course our son should take after his  
  
dad." She said, giving him a quick kiss.  
  
*********************************************************  
  
On Saturday afternoon, Jessica and Jeremy walked into House of Java,  
  
his arm around her waist. They'd been together for four months now, and  
  
were extremely close.  
  
"Hey Jess, Jeremy." Ally greeted them, sticking a pencil into her  
  
strawberry-blond bun to hold it in place. Jessica broke away from Jeremy's grasp, and tossed him his apron, and grabbed hers.  
  
Ally smiled. "Danny and Nancy are out there, and it's not too busy. Why  
  
don't you two bus some of the outside tables, okay?"  
  
"Okay." Jeremy said, tying the green strings in the back of his apron.  
  
"Anything need to be stocked?"  
  
"Oh," Ally said slightly distractedly, "Um… check some of the stations, okay?"  
  
Jessica nodded, and they were about to walk out.  
  
"Oh yeah." Ally said. Jessica and Jeremy turned around. "You two make a cute couple." She grinned, and waved them on their way.  
  
*********************************************************  
  
"Good God, I swear that was the longest shift in history." Jessica  
  
complained that evening, sitting on Jeremy's lap. They were in his room at his house, and had just gotten back from HOJ about an hour earlier.  
  
Their plans had been to go out to dinner, but they'd both been too tired  
  
to go out anywhere.  
  
"I know." Jeremy said, wrapping his arm around her back. "I thought it  
  
would never end."  
  
Jessica leaned her head on his shoulder. "At least you were working  
  
too. Otherwise it would have been unbearable."  
  
"Yeah, I agree. I love having you around." Jeremy said, moving one hand  
  
up to mess with her blond hair. "Ally schedules us together a lot."  
  
Jessica tilted her head up slightly so she could look at him. "I told  
  
her too. She said it wouldn't be a problem." She smiled, and leaned in  
  
to kiss him.  
  
"Ah-huh," Jeremy muttered, kissing her. "That's cool." He deepened the  
  
kiss.  
  
Jessica broke away slightly, then decided against it and kissed him  
  
again.  
  
"Hey baby." Elizabeth rolled over to face Conner, who was standing in  
  
the doorframe of her room. She was lying down on her bed. "Feeling any better?" he asked, his green eyes showing concern. Conner walked in and then sat down next to her.  
  
"No." Elizabeth said, sighing. "I feel like crap." She'd been sick since shortly after that gotten home, and had thrown up several times.  
  
"Poor baby." Conner said, gently touching her face. "I just wanted to know if you wanted something for dinner. Mom made some, and she asked me to come up and see if you wanted anything."  
  
"No thanks." Elizabeth said, "But thanks for asking. I don't feel up to any."  
  
Conner nodded. "I thought so. I didn't think that you be very hungry."  
  
"You thought right." Elizabeth muttered slightly, fighting back a  
  
sudden wave of nausea. She sat up quickly.  
  
"Hey," Conner said, immediately concerned. He placed a hand on her  
  
back. "Are you okay? Are you going to be sick?"  
  
Elizabeth shook her head, but didn't say anything. A few seconds later,  
  
it had passed. "I'm fine."  
  
"Okay." Conner nodded, but didn't look too convinced.  
  
"Really, I'm okay." Elizabeth said, lying back down.  
  
Conner gave her a slight smile. "I'll trust you." He leaned in a bit,  
  
and gently put his hand on her stomach. It was still strange to think  
  
that her baby- babies- were in there. His too.  
  
"Still seems strange, doesn't it?" Elizabeth asked, reading his mind.  
  
"Even now." He stated, leaning down to kiss her. "It's tough picturing  
  
it as our children in there."  
  
"Yeah." Elizabeth said, giving him a half smile, which was all she  
  
could muster. "Conner? About the twins… should we tell everyone?"  
  
Conner looked at her, and a long pause followed. "No." he said finally.  
  
"It'll make things awkward. I mean tell Jess and stuff, but not everyone needs to know."  
  
"What about our parents?" Elizabeth said softly.  
  
"Maybe our moms, but you and your dad are on such weak terms already.  
  
This might make him blow again."  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "Sounds good."  
  
Conner lie down slightly, propping himself up on his elbow. He pulled  
  
her closer to him, teasing with her hair. "I love you."  
  
Elizabeth leaned against her pillow, closing her eyes. "I love you  
  
too."  
  
Jessica felt Jeremy slid her shirt off, but she was too involved with  
  
making out with him to stop him or even care. They'd just started  
  
kissing, and it had led to making out, which had led to the present moment.  
  
She felt Jeremy move one hand down and onto her bare stomach, and  
  
Jessica didn't stop him… it just seemed so perfect. She just deepened the current kiss.  
  
A few moments later, Jeremy was short his flannel shirt, and he was  
  
making a move on unsnapping Jessica's bra. He had his hand on the bra strap, and quickly unsnapped it, and made a move to remove it.  
  
Instantly, alarm bells went off in Jessica's head. As much as she  
  
didn't want to stop, she knew they were moving too far too quickly.  
  
Instinctively, she placed her hands flat on his chest and pushed him back.  
  
Jeremy looked startled at first, the responded. "Jess, I'm sorry, I  
  
never met to…" he was silenced when Jessica placed a finger on his lips.  
  
"No, Jeremy, it's not that you were moving too fast or crossed any  
  
lines." Jessica moved her hands back, and re-snapped her pink colored bra.  
  
"It's just that we need to talk about that before make a major step  
  
like having sex."  
  
Jeremy nodded, and handed Jessica her shirt. "I know we do."  
  
Jessica nodded, sliding her top over her head, watching Jeremy button  
  
his plaid flannel shirt. "I mean after what happened with Liz…" she let  
  
the thought trail.  
  
Jeremy also nodded. "Yeah. I know I'm ready, but I don't know about  
  
you. I'm not going to rush you at all if you're not."  
  
Jessica smiled. "I'm ready," she said, looking into her boyfriend's  
  
warm brown eyes. "Which means it's time that we talk about birth control."  
  
Jeremy leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You're a girl,  
  
so you've gotta know more than me about different forms of birth  
  
control."  
  
Jessica nodded. "I'll talk to mom, and talk to her about helping me get  
  
a prescription for birth control pills."  
  
Jeremy looked surprised. "She'd help you get them?"  
  
Jessica nodded. "She's even said so before that if I ever thought that  
  
I'd come to that stage of our relationship, she would. After what  
  
happened with Liz, she doesn't want it to happen to me too."  
  
Jeremy nodded, and wrapped his arms around her. "Okay, because I'm not in the mood to be a dad right now."  
  
Jessica smiled, leaning against his chest. "Good, because I'm in no  
  
mood to be a mom either."  
  
He smiled, and pulled her back so they were lying down. "Jess, I love  
  
you."  
  
Jessica smiled. Even though it was obvious that they were in love, he'd  
  
never said it to her before. "I love you too, Jeremy." 


	2. The Real First Time

Chapter Two  
  
The Real First Time  
  
"Ugh!" Jessica sighed almost a week later, on Friday morning as she  
  
rushed around her room, failing to locate her white mini. She'd wanted to  
  
wear it that day because Jeremy was picking her up after school and she  
  
wanted to look good. "Where the hell could it be?" she muttered,  
  
riffling through her closet.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Jessica had found her skirt, changed, and done  
  
her makeup. She was currently working on her hair when she heard a knock  
  
on the door. Before she could say anything, Melissa had walked in and  
  
over to her.  
  
"Hey Jess!" She chirped, smiling at her friend.  
  
Jessica was slightly shocked. "Hey Melissa. What are you doing here?"  
  
she asked, confused.  
  
Melissa rolled her eyes. "Um, hello? Don't you remember calling me last  
  
night and asking for a ride to school today? I just got her early so your mom  
  
let me in."  
  
Oh. Yeah, Jessica remember. The Jeep wouldn't start, and her dad had  
  
said something was wrong with it. "Yeah, now I remember."  
  
"You look great." Melissa said, handing Jessica a clip. "Jeremy is going to be  
  
drooling."  
  
Jessica laughed. "No, I don't think so. My honey is a little more  
  
sophisticated then that." She kissed her finger and touched it to the framed  
  
picture of Jeremy that was sitting on her dresser.  
  
Melissa rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway. "You're lucky to have Jeremy.  
  
He's so sweet."  
  
"And sexy, and handsome, and caring, and wonderful…"  
  
"And shut up before you make me jealous." Melissa cut in laughing, then  
  
looked at the clock. "And if we want to be at school in time, I think  
  
that we had better leave."  
  
*********************************************************  
  
Conner cursed under his breath as he walked to his car after school on  
  
Friday afternoon. If he didn't get his butt moving, he was going to be  
  
beyond late for work. "This has to have been the worst day of my life."  
  
Conner muttered as he unlocked the Mustang, throwing his book bag in  
  
the passenger seat.  
  
That morning, Elizabeth had felt so sick that Conner's mom had refused  
  
to let her go to school. Conner had managed to leave his calculus,  
  
English, and physics homework laying on his desk at home, as well as his  
  
draft for creative writing, which he'd scribbled out during passing  
  
period. In English he got a lecture on Mr. Collins homework policy, and a  
  
C-minus on the paper that would account for half his second semester  
  
grade. He'd done even worse on his last creative writing assignment. And to  
  
top it all, he was late for work.  
  
Making the turn off for the Valley Mall, Conner sighed. The last thing  
  
he wanted to do was work the five hour shift at Music Stop. He was  
  
exhausted, the night before, Elizabeth had thrown up repeatedly. No matter  
  
how hard she'd tried to be quiet, Conner had heard her and usually come  
  
in and checked on her. So when he got home he'd also have to deal with  
  
a girlfriend that was probably in a bad mood.  
  
Hurrying inside, Conner pushed that thought out of his head. He loved  
  
Elizabeth more than anything, but she wasn't fun to be around when she  
  
felt bad. That's when Conner saw the long line that was creeping out the  
  
door of Music Stop. It was going to be a long night.  
  
  
  
Later that evening, Jessica was trying her hardest not to giggle at her  
  
boyfriend's eating habits. Jeremy had picked her up from school, then  
  
they'd spent some time around his house, making out, and now were eating  
  
at a little Italian restaurant about forty five minutes up the coast.  
  
Jeremy was having a little trouble mastering the talent of not letting  
  
his spaghetti hand out of his mouth.  
  
Finally she couldn't take it, and let loose a few short giggles. Jeremy  
  
blushed. "I'm not laughing at you," Jessica said, smiling, "It's just  
  
you're so cute when you do that."  
  
The comment made Jeremy blush even more. "Thanks a lot, Jess." He said,  
  
pretending to be mad.  
  
Jessica laughed, and took a bite out of her fettuccine alfredo. "You're  
  
very welcome." She teased, leaning over the table and giving him a kiss  
  
on the cheek. "You know I only tease you because you're cute when you blush."  
  
Jeremy rolled his eyes. "You're so weird." He smiled. "But I like it  
  
that way."  
  
Jessica stuck out her tongue. "You should talk. You're the weird one in  
  
this relationship."  
  
Thirty minutes later, the couple had finished dinner and decided to  
  
take a walk along the beach before driving back to Sweet Valley. By the  
  
time they'd walked outside, the sun had just started to set.  
  
"So," Jeremy asked, taking her hand and guiding her toward the shore.  
  
"What are your plans this weekend?"  
  
Jessica leaned her head against his shoulder. "Well, my parents are out  
  
of town this weekend." She said, smiling.  
  
Jeremy pulled her back. "You're kidding, right?"  
  
"No," she said, confused.  
  
Jeremy laughed. "So are mine." He took her hand again. "And Emma and  
  
Trish are staying with our grandparents."  
  
Jessica let out a quick squeal of delight. "Well, I think my plans are  
  
going to be to spend it with you." she said coyly.  
  
"Oh, was that a come on?" Jeremy shot back.  
  
"You bet."  
  
Elizabeth slowly walked down the stairs to the kitchen, and checked the  
  
time on the grandfather clock. It was almost eight thirty, which meant  
  
Conner would be home soon. She'd noticed that he'd left some of his  
  
homework at home, and she also knew that he hadn't gotten much sleep the  
  
night before. Her fault, actually, but Elizabeth figured he'd be tired  
  
and in need of some time alone with her. That was how things usually  
  
worked out when he'd had a long shift on Friday nights.  
  
Walking over to the refrigerator, Elizabeth opened it and pulled out a  
  
can of diet Coke. At that moment, she heard the front door swing open.  
  
A few seconds later, Conner appeared, giving her a hug and a quick kiss.  
  
"Hey baby." He said, kissing her again. "How are you feeling?  
  
"Oh, better, but still not great." Elizabeth said as he pulled her in  
  
close to him. She rested her head on his shoulder. "So, how was your day?"  
  
Conner pulled back from her, but kept his arms around her. "Pretty bad."  
  
"Pretty bad?" she asked, looking up into his emerald green eyes.  
  
Conner shrugged. "I forgot some of my homework, and got some bad grades  
  
in English and creative writing."  
  
Elizabeth frowned. "I'm sorry sweetie. I know you've been pretty stressed lately."  
  
Conner let go, smiling. "It's okay. This late in the year it's not  
  
going to do much." He let go of her, and took her hand instead. "Now, do we  
  
have any food around here? I haven't eaten since lunch."  
  
*******************************************************  
  
Jeremy looked up at Jessica, admiring the way her skimpy, silver bikini  
  
accented her perfect figure. After dinner, they'd decided to go back to  
  
her house and swim in the Wakefield's pool. At the moment, she was  
  
about to dive off their diving board.  
  
He felt the water splash against his face as she entered the water. A  
  
few seconds later she emerged and swam over to him, where he was  
  
standing in the shallower water. Jessica pushed her feet on the bottom,  
  
wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a firm kiss.  
  
"So," she asked when she pulled back, "Was that good?"  
  
Jeremy stared deeply into her blue green eyes, his mind still swimming  
  
from the kiss. "What? Your dive or the kiss?" he asked, placing his  
  
hands on her hips and pulling her closer.  
  
"The dive, stupid." She said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Very nice Jess." He said, leaning in to kiss her again. "I'd give it a  
  
nine." Then Jeremy got a teasing look in his warm brown eyes. "The kiss  
  
too."  
  
Jessica put her hands flat on his chest, and pushed him under. When he  
  
emerged a few moments later, she laughed. "Cute Aames. Very cute."  
  
"I know."  
  
Jessica smiled, but then a cool breeze chilled her. Otherwise, the  
  
night in late February was warm and comfortable. "It's getting cold. Why  
  
don't we get out and go inside?" Jeremy nodded, taking her hand and  
  
pulling her toward the swim ladder. Once out, he tossed her one of the  
  
towels they'd brought out.  
  
After they were semi-dry, the couple walked back into the Wakefield's  
  
house. Jessica saw that it was just after ten o'clock. "Do you need to  
  
shower?" she asked Jeremy once they were up in her room.  
  
One the way home from the restaurant, they'd stopped by Jeremy's house  
  
to get some of his stuff. Since their families were out of town,  
  
Jessica had asked Jeremy if he wanted to stay at her house, and he'd happily  
  
agreed.  
  
"No," he answered, "I'm good."  
  
Jessica nodded. "I don't think I'm going to either." She walked over to  
  
her dresser and pulled out her baby doll nightie. "I'm just going to  
  
put on my nightclothes. You can too."  
  
Jeremy nodded, and grabbed his bad from where he'd dropped it on her  
  
messy floor. "Okay. Now about tonight…" he smiled. "Where do you want me  
  
to sleep?"  
  
Jessica giggled. "Well, I guess you can sleep in Steven's room… but I  
  
sure wouldn't mind if you slept in here."  
  
Jeremy nodded, grinning. He grabbed his bag and walked toward her  
  
bathroom. "I'll change in here, okay?"  
  
Jessica nodded. "Sure."  
  
Five minutes later, Jessica had taken off her bikini and changed into  
  
her nightgown, when Jeremy stepped out of the bathroom in his boxers and  
  
a white t-shirt. Amazing, she thought, he can even looks good in his  
  
boxers. She walked over to her bed and sat down, and he sat down next to  
  
her  
  
Almost immediately, Jeremy pulled her into his lap, and began kissing  
  
her. Jessica quickly became lost in his kisses, and then felt his hand  
  
slid up on her thigh. A moment later, they fell back on Jessica's bed.  
  
In her mind, Jessica thought about what they would happen if they  
  
didn't stop. It was almost inevitable. She knew she was ready to take that  
  
step, and Jeremy was the one she wanted to take it with. 


	3. You've Got to be Kidding Me

Chapter Three  
  
You've Got To Be Kidding Me  
  
Early Saturday morning, Jessica awoke to sunlight streaming through her  
  
window. It took her a moment to wake up completely, and then realized  
  
there were a pair of arms around her.  
  
Jeremy. She thought happily, immediately remembering the night before.  
  
Jessica smiled. She'd lost her virginity to Jeremy, and didn't have any  
  
regrets. Why would I? She thought, still smiling. I love him more then  
  
anything, and he loves me just as much. We're perfect for each other.  
  
Then she felt Jeremy shift over a little bit. "Good morning, baby." He  
  
greeted her, starting to sit up. It was beyond her how he still looked  
  
cute when his hair was sticking up in all different directions.  
  
"Good morning to you, too," Jessica said, snuggling up next to him.  
  
Jeremy leaned down to kiss her.  
  
"So," he asked, pulling back, "Have a good night?"  
  
"The best." Jessica said, smiling. It had been one of the most amazing  
  
nights of her life. She smiled when Jeremy kissed her again. She loved  
  
him so much. "Do you want to go down stairs and get some breakfast?"  
  
Jeremy nodded. "Sounds good to me. I'm hungry."  
  
Jessica smiled, getting out of her bed, and grabbing her nightgown  
  
where it had been discarded the night before. "You're always hungry."  
  
Jeremy had also gotten off of her bed, and had pulled his t-shirt on  
  
with his boxers. "What can I say? I'm a growing boy."  
  
Jessica rolled his eyes, but took his hand as they walked out of her  
  
room. "No, you're just a pig." She teased. "But I love you anyway."  
  
Jeremy perked up even more when she said that. "Yeah, well I love you  
  
too."  
  
********************************************************  
  
Later that afternoon, Jessica flopped lazily down on her bed. Jeremy  
  
had left about an hour before, because he'd had to work. She smiled,  
  
thinking about her boyfriend. She really loved him.  
  
Reaching over to her nightstand, she picked up her new journal and a  
  
pen. Jessica fingered the leather cover, and flipped it open. Jeremy had  
  
given it to her for their four month anniversary on Tuesday. She  
  
smiled, reading what he'd written to her on the first page.  
  
Jess-  
  
I can't believe we've been back together for four months. You're the  
  
best thing that ever happened to me. I love you so much, and I always  
  
will.  
  
Jeremy  
  
Jessica flipped back a few pages, until it was on the next blank page.  
  
She uncapped her pen and began to write.  
  
Jessica Wakefield  
  
I love Jeremy so much! If I hadn't have been sure of that before, then  
  
I definitely would be after last night. Mom and dad are out of town,  
  
and so were his parents. He stayed over here last night, and I lost my  
  
virginity to him. It had to have been the most amazing night of my life!  
  
Yeah, I know, I shouldn't have, with what's happening with Liz and all,  
  
but that's not it. I talked to mom on Monday about birth control and  
  
everything, and she had me at the doctors the next day. So we were  
  
careful. But still. I love Jeremy so much. Okay, this might be a little  
  
young to decide this, but I think that Jeremy might be the one. I don't  
  
know what I'd do without him.  
  
*******************************************************  
  
Walking shakily back from the bathroom, Elizabeth flopped down on her  
  
bed. "Please," she muttered, "One day without puking. One day. That's  
  
all I ask for."  
  
It was just past five, which meant Conner would be home soon. He'd been  
  
working since nine, and no one else was home. Megan was at a soccer  
  
tournament, and Mrs. Sandborn had written a note saying that she was going  
  
to be at some committee meeting all day.  
  
It'd hadn't been the best day. She'd been okay that morning and in the  
  
early afternoon, but right after she'd eaten a late lunch, she'd spent  
  
the better part of the afternoon in the bathroom. Finally, though, she  
  
was starting to feel better, and was debating on going downstairs to  
  
get something to eat.  
  
Right at that moment, the doorbell rang. Elizabeth sat up, and the  
  
walked over to the door. As she walked down the stairs, she tried to think  
  
of who it could be. Stepping into the foyer, she remembered that  
  
Jessica had said that she might stop by on Saturday afternoon or evening.  
  
Elizabeth opened the door, and sure enough, Jessica was standing there,  
  
smiling. Elizabeth managed a small smile, and noted that her sister had  
  
obviously dragged Jeremy along with her.  
  
"Hey Liz!" Jessica chirped, enveloping her sister in a hug. "How are  
  
you doing? I hope you don't mind that Jeremy came along."  
  
Elizabeth smiled. "Oh, I don't mind. I'm okay. What's up with you?"  
  
"Nothing, really. Same things as always." Jessica said, releasing  
  
Elizabeth. "Where's Conner?"  
  
Elizabeth glanced at her watch. "He should be home any minute. Had to  
  
work." She shrugged. "How are you, Jeremy?"  
  
Jeremy smiled warmly. "Great." Elizabeth noted how he wrapped an arm  
  
around Jessica, his hand resting familiarly on her hip. It reminded her  
  
of how close she and Conner had been before she was pregnant.  
  
"So," she asked, leading them into the kitchen. "Do you two want  
  
something to eat? I was about to get something myself."  
  
"I'm fine." Jeremy said immediately. "Jess?"  
  
Jessica smiled, "Same here."  
  
"Elizabeth?" Elizabeth heard someone call, and recognized Conner's  
  
voice. He walked in, throwing his car keys onto the counter. He walked over  
  
to her, giving her a quick kiss.  
  
"Hello Jessica, Jeremy." Conner added as an afterthought.  
  
Elizabeth smiled as he wrapped an arm around her. Well, her being  
  
pregnant hadn't changed how close they were. "Hey sweetie. How was work?"  
  
Conner gave a one armed shrug. "Busy. I swear that every person in  
  
Sweet Valley was there today."  
  
Twenty minutes later, Elizabeth was sitting at the kitchen table,  
  
Jessica next to her. Conner and Jeremy were standing in the corner,  
  
involved in an intense debate about cars or some other guy thing.  
  
"So, really, how have you been feeling?" Jessica asked her, her blue  
  
green eyes showing concern.  
  
Elizabeth sighed. "Not that great. I just didn't want Jeremy to think I  
  
was incredibly bitchy or anything."  
  
Jessica shrugged. "He knows you're pregnant. Besides, you have the  
  
right to be bitchy."  
  
Elizabeth laughed. "So, how are you doing? I know you said that mom and  
  
dad are out of town."  
  
Jessica blushed. "Well… Jeremy's parents and little sisters are out of  
  
town too…"  
  
"You guys…?"  
  
Jessica nodded, blushing. "Last night. But don't worry. Mom already  
  
helped me get on birth control pills. She's okay with it."  
  
"Mom's pretty cool."  
  
Jessica nodded again. "Hey, you never told me how your doctors  
  
appointment went last weekend."  
  
Elizabeth quickly debated whether or not to go ahead and tell her.  
  
"Well, Conner and I got some… surprising news." She paused.  
  
"And?"  
  
"Well," Elizabeth started slowly, and then let it rush out. "I'm not  
  
going to be having one baby, but two. Twins."  
  
Jessica's expression was of pure shook. She opened and closed her mouth  
  
quickly, debating what to say. "Omigod! What are you going to do?"  
  
"Keep them." Elizabeth said softly. "It's going to be a boy and a  
  
girl."  
  
Jessica gave her sister a hug. "I hope things all work out for you."  
  
******************************************************  
  
"I hate early shifts!" Jessica complained the next morning, as she and  
  
Jeremy drove into work. It wasn't even six yet, and they had to open  
  
that day.  
  
"Come on Jess, it isn't that bad." Jeremy said, looking out onto the  
  
bare road. No one was out this early. "At least we get to work together."  
  
Jessica groaned, running her fingers through her fine blonde hair.  
  
"Hey," Jeremy said brightly, pulling onto the street leading up to HOJ.  
  
"I forgot to tell you. Ally said that we have a new employee. He's  
  
supposed to be working this morning."  
  
Jessica nodded. "Cool. Do you know who it is?"  
  
Jeremy shook his head. "No, but I think that she said he's our age." He  
  
turned into the parking lot, and killed the engine. He got out, and  
  
then opened the passenger door for Jessica.  
  
Holding hands, Jessica and Jeremy walked up, and into the building.  
  
Ally was humming away, scrubbing at a coffee stain on the counter. "Hey  
  
Jess, Jer."  
  
Nodding hello, Jeremy slipped into the backroom, grabbing his apron as  
  
well as Jessica's. He tossed it to her, and then slid his over his  
  
head. "When's the new employee going to be here?"  
  
Ally checked her watch. "Six thirty. Why don't you guys go get the  
  
tables cleaned in the mean time?"  
  
Almost half an hour later, Jessica was filling the condiment station,  
  
and Jeremy was in the stock room, when the door jangled. Jessica looked  
  
up, and gapped in shock as Will Simmons walked in, wearing a House of  
  
Java shirt, identical to the one that Jeremy was wearing. No. It  
  
couldn't be.  
  
"Jessica, this is Will Simmons, our newest employee." Ally announced. 


	4. Don't Go There

Chapter Four  
  
Don't Go There  
  
"How am I going to navigate this minefield?" Jessica complained to  
  
Jeremy as she got into his car after their shift was over. "Will, working at HOJ?"  
  
Jeremy shook his head. "Hey, it makes me every bit as mad as you. I  
  
don't trust Will in the slightest. I saw him trying to make a move on you  
  
all morning."  
  
Jessica sighed. "He still likes me, and I know it." She shook her head,  
  
closing her eyes. "Ugh! I hate Will Simmons!"  
  
Jeremy nodded, backing out of the parking lot. "You're not the only  
  
one."  He let out a low whistle. "I think there's a whole list of people."  
  
Jessica laughed, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I think that you're  
  
right." She rolled her eyes. "He definitely makes me feel uneasy."  
  
***********************************************************  
  
Will rounded the hall slowly after school on Monday. He was walking  
  
towards Jessica's locker. Beautiful, sweet lighthearted Jessica. Okay, he  
  
was so not over that girl. He still loved her. And he was going to win  
  
her back.  
  
He walked up behind her. She was looking through her locker for  
  
something, and looking gorgeous. If only Aames wasn't in the picture.  
  
"Hey Jessica." Will said smoothly, reaching out and placing his hand on  
  
her bare arm. Jessica swirled around immediately.  
  
"Get your hand off me!" she exclaimed, almost shrieking at him. Jessica  
  
slapped his hand away. "Leave me alone, Will."  
  
Will looked into her eyes. He'd always loved those eyes, shining like  
  
clear, aquamarine oceans. Well, not now. Now they were more like  
  
troubled seas.  
  
"Come on, Jess. Please, just give me a minute," Will pleaded, "I know  
  
that you're the girl for me. Give me a chance. I love you more than  
  
Aames ever could."  
  
Jessica shook her head, violently shoving books into her backpack. "You  
  
just don't get it, do you? I want you out of my life, okay?"  
  
Will reached for her arm again, but she pulled back. "Jessica, you  
  
don't mean that, do you?"  
  
Jessica slammed her locker shut. "Yes, I do. Now get a clue. I hate  
  
you." With that, she turned around, leaving Will in a shocked silence.  
  
After she was well out of sight, Will's mind once again regained it's  
  
function, comprehending what she'd said. I hate you. Those had to have  
  
been the cruelest words he'd ever heard.  
  
Anger building inside him, Will gritted his teeth. He gave Jessica's  
  
locker a hard kick. Without warning, it haphazardly swung open, and a  
  
little leather book fell to the floor, open.  
  
Will leaned down to pick it up, seeing the pages filled with Jessica's  
  
neat, girly handwriting. Noting that the pages were dated, Will  
  
realized that this was her journal. He shut it, and was about to put it back  
  
in her locker when another idea popped in his head.  
  
Will slammed Jessica's locker with a loud bang, and then swung his  
  
backpack around, unzipping it and shoving Jessica's journal in.  
  
Conner gazed at Elizabeth as he took a bite of his scampi. She looked  
  
so pretty with her blonde hair down, as recently she'd been wearing it  
  
up most of the time. He'd taken her out to dinner that night, to a  
  
little Italian restaurant. Both Mrs. Sandborn and Megan were out for the  
  
evening, and Elizabeth hadn't felt sick for the first time in weeks, so  
  
Conner had decided to treat them to dinner.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" Elizabeth asked softly, almost reading  
  
his mind. He'd been about to ask her the same thing.  
  
"How beautiful you are, and how much I love you." Conner answered  
  
truthfully. He studied her face, the light from the candle illuminating it  
  
slightly. Other then the soft glow of candlelight, most of the room was dark.  
  
Elizabeth blushed slightly. "I was thinking about how much I love you,  
  
and what our future will be like." She admitted. "It may be hard, but I  
  
know that we're doing the right thing."  
  
Conner nodded in agreement. "It's still hard to believe that in only  
  
five more months we'll be parents." He reached across the table, placing  
  
his hand over hers. "Are you scared?"  
  
Elizabeth bit her lip. "Yeah. I am scared. I just hope that things work  
  
out." She gave his hand a firm squeeze.  
  
"Me too. But the important thing is," Conner stated, looking deeply  
  
into her eyes, "Is that we love each other, because if we do, things will  
  
work out."  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "And we do love each other. I know that somehow,  
  
someway, everything will be okay in the end."  
  
Conner leaned over to gently kiss her, pushing a few stray strands of  
  
hair out of her face. "You're right." He amended, watching her take a  
  
bite of her pasta. After eating in silence for a moment, Conner noticed  
  
she was fiddling with her promise ring, twisting it around on her finger.  
  
Not good. Conner knew that had fast become one of Elizabeth's nervous  
  
gestures, indicating something was wrong. He studied her face, trying to  
  
see if she appeared to be sick or something. No luck. Just a slightly  
  
concerned expression.  
  
"What's wrong?" Conner asked, praying it was nothing serious.  
  
"Well," Elizabeth started, biting her lip, "I know I should have said  
  
something earlier, but I got my acceptance packet for SVU two weeks ago.  
  
And to my knowledge, you haven't gotten any type of a response."  
  
Conner felt his stomach turn slightly. This wasn't good at all. He  
  
hadn't gotten his, and in fact had been worrying about that. "I haven't."  
  
he confirmed.  
  
Elizabeth's eyes flashed concern. "And we sent them in at the same time."  
  
There went his appetite. When they'd filled out the applications  
  
together, Conner had noted immediately that his grades weren't nearly as high  
  
as Elizabeth, and that he'd just been above the requirements. He'd been  
  
so involved with work and his concerns about Elizabeth, school had been  
  
shoved to the bottom of his priority list. Sadly, Conner also realized  
  
they slipped even more since.  
  
"Conner?" Elizabeth prompted.  
  
Conner felt his mouth go dry. He hadn't said a word about how much his  
  
grades had slipped to her. He didn't want her to have to worry about  
  
that, as well. "Well, um, Liz," he mumbled, "My grades were barely over  
  
the requirements when we sent in the papers. And they've slipped even  
  
lower…" he trailed off.  
  
Elizabeth let loose a little gasp, studying Conner's face and letting  
  
the full effect of his words sink in. She mentally went over the last  
  
few weeks in her head. Mr. Collins yelling at Conner about not having his  
  
homework… Mr. Quigley marking him down on an assignment because it was  
  
late… Conner hastily shoving his mid terms into his backpack… In fact,  
  
she hadn't seen Conner do any of his homework for almost a month, but  
  
more often him scribbling it out during lunch or study hall.  
  
"Sweetie," Elizabeth asked quietly, "Exactly how bad are things?"  
  
Conner hesitated. Now that he thought about it, his grades had slipped  
  
so much, he might not make. "Pretty bad." He said mutely, realizing how  
  
bad things had gotten.  
  
"How bad?" She asked firmly. Then her tone soften. "Conner, I'm not mad  
  
at you, but I have a right to know what's going on."  
  
Conner sighed. "Okay, I think that the highest grade I'm pulling is a  
  
B-minus, and that's in gym. I think that the next best is a C or  
  
something in English." He couldn't look her in the eye. He heard her take a  
  
deep breathe.  
  
"What's your GPA at?"  
  
Conner closed his eyes. He might not make college this year. "Just over  
  
three point oh." And he knew that the only thing that was holding it  
  
that high were his grades from the beginning of the year. And they were  
  
just going to slip more.  
  
Elizabeth could almost feel her heart stop. No. Mentally, she went down  
  
the SVU requirements. 3.41 was the average grade point average for  
  
instate. SAT score was 1127. Conner wasn't going to cut it. "No." She  
  
whispered softly. "No."  
  
"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah," Will half muttered as he read through  
  
Jessica's diary. He was noticing a pattern in the entries: Jessica  
  
gushing over Jeremy, Jessica's bargain purchase at the mall, Jessica and  
  
Jeremy's latest date, Jessica's horrible shift at house of Java, how cute  
  
Jeremy was on their date, how the cheerleaders had done an awesome job  
  
at a game, how much she loved Jeremy… Was Jeremy the only thing that  
  
she ever thought about?  
  
"Apparently." Will said, rolling his eyes. "I think that I'm going to  
  
puke if I see his name one more time." He flipped the page, and seeing  
  
his name, he read out loud.  
  
"… and Will Simmons is such a loser. He actually asked me out again  
  
today, right after cheerleading practice. He was all sweaty and gross.  
  
Will needs to grow up and figure out that I hate him. I love Jeremy now…"  
  
Will dropped the diary on his bed, blood boiling. He had to prove to  
  
Jessica that Jeremy was all wrong for her. He was all wrong, nothing too  
  
it. Will was the one that was perfect for her.  
  
"Don't you realize that we're soul mates?" Will whispered, as if  
  
Jessica could hear his words. "You and me, we belong together, for eternity!"  
  
he stated, in his mind speaking what he considered the truth.  
  
Then Will flipped to the most recent entries. One was of him and one  
  
was of….  
  
No. She would have, couldn't have. Will let loose an angry yell.  
  
Jessica, his Jessica, had lost her virginity to that creep. She and Will  
  
hadn't ever gotten the chance to be that intimate. "She will pay!" Will  
  
hissed, under his breath. "She is mine, and she will be with me!"  
  
Slamming her diary shut, Will got off his bed, and walked towards his  
  
mirror. Yes, yes. It would work. He would have what was rightfully his.  
  
"Liz, I'm sure that everything will work out." Conner said, watching  
  
the waiter leave to get the check. "I'll study harder, and put more time  
  
in. I'll bring up my grades. At least my SAT scores are high enough."  
  
Elizabeth nodded, searching his green eyes. He was genuine about this,  
  
that was for sure. "You'll make it." Elizabeth said, hoping she sounded  
  
positive and upbeat. "I know you will."  
  
Conner nodded, praying she was right. Whatever he had to do, he'd get  
  
into SVU, and they'd go through with the plans that they'd lain out for  
  
the future. Things would be fine. At that moment, the waiter  
  
reappeared, and Conner opened his wallet, and pulled out the right amount, plus a tip. "Ready to go?"  
  
Elizabeth nodded, standing up. Conner offered her his hand, and  
  
together they walked toward the door.  
  
Once outside, they walked towards Conner's Mustang. They were almost to  
  
it when Elizabeth felt it, doubling over as the intense, sharp, pain in  
  
her stomach worsened.  
  
"Liz!" She could hear Conner's frantic voice. "Elizabeth! What's  
  
wrong?"  
  
Fighting back tears, Elizabeth felt Conner holding her up, supporting  
  
her. "I don't know." She choked, not know what was happening.  
  
"Come on." Conner said, gently helping her towards the car.  
  
"Something's wrong. You need to get to the hospital." 


	5. Anything But

Chapter Five  
  
Anything But  
  
Two hours later, Elizabeth lay in a hospital bed, clutching Conner's   
  
hand tightly. Both were waiting for Dr. Zimmerman to come back and give   
  
them the test results. As soon as they'd gotten their, it was confirmed   
  
that something had been wrong, and Elizabeth had had various test, as   
  
well as a sonogram.  
  
In her head, Elizabeth silently pleaded that she hadn't lost the   
  
babies. Even though her pregnancy was completely unplanned and unpredicted,   
  
she didn't want to have a miscarriage. She had become accustom to the   
  
idea of having the twins, and it hurt her to think she might have lost them.  
  
"Are you doing any better?" Conner asked quietly, squeezing her hand.   
  
"A little." Elizabeth said, looking up at him. Her stomach still hurt,   
  
but not as bad as it had a few hours before. "I wonder what's taking so   
  
long?" She muttered, not really to Conner or herself.  
  
"I don't know. It does seem to be taking a really long time." Conner   
  
admitted, hesitantly. He could tell by the expression on her face that   
  
she was really scared. "I'm sure it'll be soon."  
  
Elizabeth nodded, hoping her was right. "I know this might sound   
  
strange," she started after a long silence, "but I hope I don't have a miscarriage."  
  
Conner processed what she'd said. Actually, it didn't seem so odd to   
  
him. He didn't want her to lose the baby either. Even though they weren't   
  
by chose having a baby at that point in their lives, it was still   
  
theirs. "I know." He answering, lifting a hand up to push a strand of hair   
  
out of her face.  
  
"Elizabeth, Conner?" the couple looked up to see Dr. Zimmerman standing   
  
in the doorframe, looking intently at both of them.  
  
Elizabeth quickly sat up straighter on the bed, as Conner did the same   
  
on the hospital chair he was sitting on, still holding onto her hand.  
  
"Yeah?" Conner answered, for both of them.  
  
Dr. Zimmerman pulled up a chair, sitting so he was right next to them.   
  
"Well, to start, Elizabeth, you didn't have a miscarriage."  
  
Elizabeth breathed a short sigh of relief. "But what happened then?"  
  
"Well," Dr. Zimmerman started, rustling through his papers and looking   
  
at his clipboard. "Based on the test that we ran, I believe that what   
  
you experienced was a rupture in the uterine lining."  
  
Elizabeth and Conner shared a questioning look, and then Elizabeth   
  
glanced back at the doctor. "What's that? I mean, is it serious?"  
  
Dr. Zimmerman gave her a slight smile. "Yes and no. Basically, what   
  
happened, was that the inner lining of the uterus tore, which caused some   
  
sudden bleeding, which caused the pain that you experienced."  
  
Elizabeth bit her lip, and watching as Conner looked over at her,   
  
clearly wanting her to pose the next question. She took a deep breath.  
  
"Will it cause any complications or anything?"  
  
Dr. Zimmerman offered her a comforting smile. "Well, once again, yes   
  
and no. I'm not sure what caused the rupture, but it's apparently stopped   
  
bleeding on it's own. But, I'm going to ask that for the rest of the   
  
pregnancy, you're going to have to take it easy. Too much physical   
  
activity could cause premature labor."  
  
Elizabeth nodded, squeezing Conner's hand. "Okay, I understand that."  
  
"That's good. And try not to get too stressed out, either. It'll wear   
  
down on you, which could cause the same effects. You're going to have to   
  
be extremely careful. Don't overexert  yourself."   
  
Conner looked over at the doctor. "Is Liz going to have to stay here   
  
for a few days?"  
  
Dr. Zimmerman nodded. "Just overnight. I just want to monitor her for a   
  
little bit to make sure things are okay. And then I'll let you get out   
  
of here, on the condition you'll just rest for the next few days."  
  
Elizabeth nodded, looking from the doctor over to Conner. She stared   
  
into his eyes for a moment. She immediately felt comforted, knowing that   
  
he was there. "What about school?"  
  
The doctor shook his head. "No. I just want you home laying down in bed, okay?"  
  
"Okay." Elizabeth said in agreement. "Can I go back next week?"  
  
"I think that you'll be okay by then, but if you have any discomfort or   
  
pain that is out of the ordinary, I want to know immediately." Dr.   
  
Zimmerman amended. "By the way, have you been sick very often?"  
  
Elizabeth and Conner shared another look. "Almost all the time." She admitted.  
  
Dr. Zimmerman nodded, biting down on the side of his lip. "And were you   
  
throwing up at this time?" Elizabeth nodded. "Well, I think that it's   
  
been leading up to this. But I'm sure everything will be fine."  
  
**************************************************************  
  
"If this day gets any worse," Jessica muttered, slamming shut the door   
  
of the Jeep and walking quickly up the front path to her house, "I am   
  
going to throw a fit."  
  
The day had gone from bad to worse. On accident, she'd left her journal   
  
in her locker the night before, and she couldn't find it this morning   
  
when she got to school. Elizabeth had been gone, and she couldn't locate   
  
Conner to find out what was up.   
  
She'd failed a French quiz, nearly sprained her ankle during a lift at   
  
cheerleading, and had to deal with Will on her shift at HOJ. He'd been   
  
making kept "accidentally" brushing against her, and had made her feel   
  
generally uneasy. She'd also had to put up with Corey, who was being a   
  
pain in the ass. To top that, Corey had drenched her with a creamer bag   
  
in the stock room, and a customer had spilt boiling coffee on her arm.   
  
All ready, Jessica could feel the blister rising.   
  
Walking through the doorway, Jessica padding in the kitchen, where her   
  
mother was cooking something or another on the stove. "Hey honey." He   
  
mom greeted her. She sniffed at the air for a second. "You smell like   
  
creamer."  
  
"I know." Jessica grumbled, walking over to where the Wakefield's kept  
  
their first aid supplies. "I work in a coffee house."  
  
Mrs. Wakefield nodded. "I know that. But do you have a minute? It's  
  
about Liz."  
  
Jessica stopped immediately. "What happened?" She said, slightly  
  
shakily, praying that her sister was okay, whatever was going on.  
  
"She's okay, now, but she had some problems last night. Mrs. Sandborn  
  
called me about it right after you'd left for school. The doctor said it  
  
was a uterine lining rupture, and she was bleeding, but the baby is  
  
okay, and so is Liz. But she will be in the hospital for a day or so."  
  
Jessica sat down on a kitchen chair. Then something popped into her  
  
head. "Are both babies okay?" Oops. She hadn't met to let that slip. Her  
  
mom was staring at her in shock.  
  
"What did you say?" Mrs. Wakefield asked, surprised.  
  
Jessica hung her head slightly, pretending to be focused on applying  
  
burn cream. "Um, Liz is going to be having twins."  
  
"How long has she know?" Alice demanded.  
  
"Only a week or so, mom. Not that long." Jessica said, squirming. "She  
  
was going to tell you, but not dad. She didn't want him to get any  
  
madder at her."  
  
Alice sat down. "I'm not mad… just very surprised." She shook her head.  
  
"I can't believe that Elizabeth is going to have twins…"  
  
"Elizabeth is having twins!" Jessica heard her dad's voice boom from  
  
the doorway. He did not sound pleased. She spun around. And the look on  
  
his face told Jessica he was anything but.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Elizabeth leaned back onto her fluffy pile of pillows on Wednesday  
  
morning. She was back at Conner's house, which was much better than the  
  
hospital. Conner had just left for school, and the house was now quiet,  
  
and it didn't take Elizabeth long to decide to go back to sleep. She was  
  
dealing with the normal bout of morning sickness.  
  
Flipping over, Elizabeth took a quick peak out the window. The day was  
  
dark and overcast, and it was apparent that it was going to rain.  
  
Burying her head in a pillow, she was about to close her eyes, when someone  
  
knocked at the door.  
  
"Liz, can I come in?" Mrs. Sandborn called quietly.  
  
"Yeah." Elizabeth called, sitting back up. Mrs. Sandborn pushed open  
  
her door, stepping into the room. She sat down on the corner of her bed.  
  
"I hope I didn't disturb you," Mrs. Sandborn started. "But your father  
  
called earlier, and wanted to know if you'd mind if he came over to  
  
talk later."  
  
Elizabeth bit her lip, and hesitantly nodded. She was praying that she  
  
would get mad at her again. "Um, sure, I guess."  
  
"Okay, then," Mrs. Sandborn said, smiling, "You go ahead and get your  
  
rest. I'll call him and tell him that you said it was okay. I'll see you later Liz."  
  
Not knowing what to make of that, Elizabeth turned over and went to sleep.  
  
A little after noon that afternoon, Elizabeth was sitting at her desk,  
  
working on some of the homework that she'd missed the day before.  
  
Conner had brought it home for her. She'd already finished a page of French  
  
vocab, her calc, and was currently working on a character study for  
  
creative writing. She'd finished half a page when she heard another knock  
  
at the door.  
  
"Come in!" Elizabeth called, assuming that it was her dad.  
  
"Elizabeth?" Ned Wakefield asked, walking over to her. Elizabeth  
  
swirled around on the desk chair.  
  
He'd probably came straight from work, on his lunch break, she noted,  
  
seeing he was still dressed in his suit. "Yeah?" She responding,  
  
wondering why he'd decided to come over so suddenly.  
  
"I heard about what happened. It's too bad." Ned said calmly, "And I  
  
also heard that you were going to have twins."  
  
Elizabeth nodded, biting her lip. "Yes, I'm going to be having twins. I  
  
know that I should have told you sooner." She prayed admitting it would  
  
keep him from blowing up at her.  
  
"I understand that." Ned said, "But I'm not mad at you anymore." He sat  
  
down on the corner of her unmade bed. "I want to help you through  
  
this." He motioned for her to sit next to him.  
  
Now this way beyond weird. Her dad had completely forgiven her? No way.  
  
Even with the thoughts running through her head, Elizabeth stood up,  
  
and walked over to the bed. She sat down next to her dad. "Okay." She  
  
said slowly.  
  
"Well," her dad started, turning slightly to face her. "I've talked to  
  
mom, and she said that you're too far along for and abortion." He  
  
reached down to where he'd set his briefcase. Snapping it open, he flipped  
  
through it until he'd come across a few sheets of paper, and handed them  
  
to his daughter.  
  
Elizabeth looked at them, the emblem of her dad's law firm across the  
  
top. She looked it over. "Adoption?" Elizabeth said, reading over the paper.  
  
"Yes, her dad said, not paying attention to her tone. "One of the  
  
partners, David Longadio, his brother handles what we call kid's court,  
  
which handles adoption. He said that he could arrange for…"  
  
"Stop!" Elizabeth demanded angrily. "Who said that I was going to put  
  
these babies up for adoption?"  
  
"Now honey," Ned replied, "Be reasonable. You're seventeen, with no  
  
source of income, and no healthy relationship. You have your entire future  
  
in front of you. These babies will only be a set back."  
  
"No healthy relationship!" Elizabeth could feel her blood boiling. "I  
  
have a boyfriend, remember?"  
  
Ned Wakefield's eyes flashed cold. "I meant a respectable young man.  
  
Not that… that… boy you associate yourself with. Conner!" He spit the  
  
name out if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "He's anything but. He got  
  
you knocked up, and you know that he'll leave the moment that those  
  
babies are born."  
  
"Stop it now! Conner is a great guy! He loves me, and he'll love our  
  
children!" Elizabeth spit out, emphasizing the word our.  
  
"For how long?" Ned said, his brown eyes dancing with anger. "Until you  
  
stop sleeping with him?"  
  
"Things like that don't matter to him!" Elizabeth was furious now. "He loves me for who I am!"  
  
Mr. Wakefield snorted. "You can keep telling yourself that. But if you  
  
do, you'll end up street trash. What about Conner's father? Where's  
  
he?" Ned said intimidating.  
  
That was all it took for Elizabeth. "Get out! Now!" She demanded.  
  
Mr. Wakefield stood up, walking toward the door. "Think about it.  
  
Either you do the right thing or the wrong thing. If you don't put those  
  
babies up for adoption, don't bother calling yourself my daughter anymore.  
  
What's it going to be?"  
  
Elizabeth looked him dead in the eye. "I guess I'm not your daughter anymore!" 


	6. Life Goes On

Chapter Six  
  
Life Goes On  
  
Conner flung his keys on the counter, and dropped his backpack on the  
  
floor the moment that he walked in the door after school. He then  
  
quickly walked up the stairs to Elizabeth's room, and knocked on the door.  
  
"Come on in," he heard her say softly from the other side, "It's open."  
  
Conner walked in, to see her sitting at her desk, looking over  
  
something. "What's up?" He asked, sitting down on her bed. She sighed, getting  
  
up and sitting next to him. "Dad came over to talk to me today." She said calmly.  
  
He studied her face, trying to figure out what he could make of that.  
  
"And?"  
  
"And he totally thinks that I'm ruining my life." Elizabeth blurted.  
  
Conner pulled her into his arms. "I figured. What happened?"  
  
Elizabeth pulled back to face him. "He pretty much gave me an  
  
ultimatum. Either I give the twins up for adoption, or I keep them and disown  
  
myself from my family."  
  
Conner could almost feel his heart stop. "Liz…"  
  
"No." Elizabeth stopped him. "Listen to me first. I told my dad right  
  
then and there that I wasn't going to give up these babies. I couldn't go on his terms."  
  
"But I know how important your family is to you…"  
  
"No, I still have mom, Jess, and Steven. And I can't stand the way my  
  
dad thinks of you." Elizabeth added. "He acts like I'm above you, and  
  
that you're just going to take off on me. But that's not you, and I know it."  
  
Conner pulled her closer, letting her rest her head against his  
  
shoulder. "It's going to be okay." He amended, wiping away a tear that had  
  
slipped down her cheek.  
  
Elizabeth looked up at his facing, looking deeply into his emerald  
  
eyes. She nodded, and let him give her a quick kiss. "I love you."  
  
Conner leaned down and kissed her. "I love you too."  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Jessica slammed shut the door of the Jeep on Thursday morning, noting  
  
that Melissa was already here. She'd wanted her opinion on some ideas  
  
for cheerleading before she talked to Coach Laufeld and Tia about it. She  
  
was about to walk up to the building, when she saw that Will was  
  
walking toward her.  
  
Not wanting to even get near him, Jessica quickly began to walk the  
  
other way, but yet he followed her.  
  
"Hey, Jessica, stop!" She could hear him calling her, but ignored it  
  
until finally her nerves were beginning to wear.  
  
Stopping, Jessica turned to face him. "What do you want?" She demanded.  
  
"To give you something." Will said, pulling his backpack off his  
  
shoulder.  
  
"No!" Jessica said, "I don't need any of your secret admirer gifts."  
  
She spun on her heels to walk away, but Will gripped her arm firmly.  
  
Will grabbed something from out of his backpack. "Here."  
  
Jessica then registered that he was handing her back her journal. "Give  
  
that to me!" she snatched it out of his hands. "Where did you get  
  
that?"  
  
"Your locker," Will answered, a smirk spreading on his face. "It was  
  
very interesting."  
  
"You read it!" Jessica exclaimed in shook. "You… you…" but Will cut her  
  
off, pulling her towards him firmly, and leaning down to kiss her.  
  
Jessica pushed back frantically, but Will held her firmly, taking his  
  
size and weight in as advantages. It didn't take her more then a second  
  
to realized he wasn't going to let go until he wanted to. Then Jessica  
  
felt Will slid his hands up the back of her shirt, up to her bra strap.  
  
Forcing all her might, Jessica kicked him hard in the shin. "You  
  
bastard!" she hissed, re-snapping her bra. Then Jessica reached up, and  
  
slapped him hard across the face.  
  
  
  
Will stared at Jessica's backside as she flounced away from him. He  
  
reached up, touching his cheek, which still stung from when she'd slapped  
  
him. Wincing, Will picked his backpack up from where he'd dropped it.  
  
Surely, that hadn't been his angel, beautiful, sweet, pure Jessica.  
  
It wasn't her. Will thought, smiling again. No it wasn't Jessica.  
  
Jessica would never do that to him. Never.  
  
It was Melissa. Will concluded. Melissa had been trying to brainwash  
  
his Jessica. She was jealous of him. Of them. Will gritted his teeth.  
  
Melissa would pay. Straightening his backpack on his shoulder, Will walked  
  
toward the main entrance of the building.  
  
He walked up the stairs, toward his locker, which was in close  
  
proximity to Melissa's. Sure enough, like every morning, she was rummaging  
  
around in it, trying to find something. Will looked at the clock, and sure  
  
enough, the one minute warning bell sounded. Will watched as students  
  
scurried around, trying to make their classes.  
  
Taking a few steps closer, Will watched Melissa, and then checked to  
  
make sure the hall was clear. He stepped slowly up behind her, and then  
  
yanked her back.  
  
"What the hell?" Melissa screeched, having no clue what was happening.  
  
"Listen," Will demanded angrily, spinning her around to face her, then  
  
tightly gripping her arms. "You stay out of Jessica's life. She belongs  
  
with me!"  
  
Melissa was startled, she didn't speak. She just looked up at Will, a  
  
mixture of fear and anxiety masking her face. "Get away from me," she  
  
said finally, "Please leave me alone."  
  
Will looked at her for a moment, then shoved her against her locker.  
  
With that, he turned around, and walked away, leaving her in a stunned  
  
silence.  
  
"… attention students: there has been an outbreak of influenza on  
  
campus!" Tia read out loud from the school newsletter, "Please take extreme  
  
caution when around other students who have this flu virus. It spreads  
  
very quickly, and can be paused on in a variety of different ways…  
  
blah, blah, blah, bland. Seriously, don't you think that most of the  
  
students here have figured this out?"  
  
Melissa laughed, then pretended to be shocked. "No, the flu's going  
  
around? You've got to be kidding me."  
  
Jessica cracked up, opening her locker. "As if that most of my classes  
  
are half empty wasn't a clue. Or the fact that Maria, Ken, Conner, and  
  
Andy have been out for the last three days."  
  
Elizabeth shook her head. "Conner's got a bad case of it."  
  
"How bad would you judge it?" Melissa asked. "My little sister has it."  
  
"Well," Elizabeth started, eyes twinkling mischievously, "The fact that  
  
Conner and I are both in the bathroom puking about an equal amount of time?"  
  
Jessica swatted her sisters arm, and shook her head. "You are too much, girl!"  
  
Tia laughed. "She is! Hey, all my brothers have it, so I'll probably be  
  
getting it next!" She shivered at the thought. "Ew. Not my idea of a fun time."  
  
"Hey, Tee," Elizabeth added, "Me too. Mrs. Sandborn and Megan have it  
  
too. I feel like I should be quarantined."  
  
Jessica laughed again. "If you get it, you'll wish that you had been."  
  
She made a gagging noise. "You know I had it last week. It was awful!"  
  
"Has Jeremy fallen prey?" Tia asked.  
  
Jessica shook her head. "No, thank goodness." She groaned. "But he'll  
  
probably get it, unfortunately. Both his little sisters have it, and  
  
it's going wild at work. Corey,  Suzanne, Jeremy, Danny… and Will are the  
  
only ones left beside me." She let loose a mental shiver at Will's  
  
name. It had been over two weeks since the parking lot incident, but she  
  
still felt uneasy about it.  
  
"Speaking of work, Jess," Elizabeth said, "Shouldn't you have been  
  
there five minutes ago?"  
  
Jessica grabbed her sister's wrist. "Oh shit! You're right! By people!"  
  
She said quickly, giving Elizabeth a quick hug. "Gotta run!"  
  
Jessica walked out the front the door, chiding herself at letting  
  
herself chat with her friends too long. She rushed out, quickly walking to  
  
the Jeep. She unlocked the door, and then slid in quickly. Pulling out  
  
of the parking lot, she forced herself to not think about how late she  
  
was going to be.  
  
Think about how good it'll be to see Jeremy. Okay, this wasn't going to  
  
be hard at all. He was working with her and Corey tonight, so things  
  
wouldn't be too bad. Hey, Mrs. Scott was out with the bug, so how bad  
  
could things be? Jessica laughed, just thinking so.  
  
And Jeremy would be looking adorable as usual. Jessica at the thought  
  
of him. They'd gotten even closed then ever in the past weeks. Yeah,  
  
Jessica thought, giggling slightly. Probably due to the fact that we've  
  
starting sleeping together!  
  
Five minutes later, she pulled into the HOJ parking lot, parked the  
  
Jeep, and practically flew into the building. "Sorry I'm late!" She  
  
called, rushing into the backroom and grabbing her apron.  
  
"No problem, Jess." Ally smiled. "It's slow out there. Jeremy's  
  
working, Corey's smoking, what else is new?"  
  
Jessica shrugged. "Nothing at all." She walked out to Jeremy, who was  
  
sitting on a stool behind the counter, doing nothing. There were only a  
  
handful of customers in the whole café.  
  
"Hey baby." Jeremy greeted her, pulling her over to him and giving her  
  
a kiss. "What's up?"  
  
"Nothing, just late as usual. And the bug got another victim. Mom."  
  
Jeremy winced. "Oh. Not good. My mom has it too."  
  
Jessica shrugged. "It's the flu bug that conquered Sweet Valley, one  
  
person at a time."  
  
Almost four hours, and a much busier HOJ later, Jessica moved around,  
  
fixing a cappuccino for an elderly man. From next to her, Jeremy was  
  
dealing with a group of freshmen girls.  
  
"That'll be four fifty." Jessica heard Jeremy say, followed by a round  
  
of coughing and a sneeze. Jessica looked at him concerned. He'd been  
  
sneezing and coughing most of the night.  
  
Handing the main his coffee, Jessica quickly rang up his total, and  
  
made change. Looking past, she sighed in relief when she saw that there  
  
was no one else in line. She looked over at Jeremy, who'd was leaning  
  
against the counter. He looked more then a little pale.  
  
"Sweetie, are you okay?" She asked concerned.  
  
"Yeah." Jeremy replied, slightly weakly. Then he turned about four  
  
shades paler. "Um, Jess, be back." He said hurriedly, hurrying toward the  
  
bathrooms. Jessica winced. Poor Jeremy.  
  
****************************************************************  
  
Jessica looked through her clothing quickly, trying to find her HOJ  
  
tee-shirt.  
  
"There!" she called, grabbing the purple material. She slipped in on  
  
over her head. "Okay, now wear are those trashy old jeans?"  
  
Just as she'd spotted them on the far side of the room, the phone rang.  
  
Jessica ignored it. She slipped on her jeans. The phone ringed again,  
  
making Jessica remember that she was the only one home. She lunged to  
  
get it. "Hello?"  
  
"Jess?" The voice was weak and male.  
  
"Jeremy?" she asked after a second.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
 Jessica immediately felt bad for him. He sounded horrible. "Poor  
  
baby!" she exclaimed. "You got it, too?"  
  
"Yeah. Jess I'm sorry, I can't work tonight."  
  
"Honey, it's okay. Besides, shouldn't you call Ally, not me?"  
  
"I did. Danny's working."  
  
"So what's the problem?"  
  
"Remember? You and Will are scheduled to work closing. I wasn't. So  
  
Danny'll be out of there, and it'll just be you and Will. I don't feel  
  
very good about you alone with him I don't trust him."  
  
Jessica immediately felt nervous. She hadn't told Jeremy that Will had  
  
kissed her. "But what about Ally?"  
  
"Ally's got it too. Jess, I gotta go, but just be careful, okay?"  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Jessica glanced nervously at the clock. Ten after midnight. House of  
  
Java had closed ten minutes before, and Danny had peeled out of there  
  
right away. She hoped that she could get out of there soon. Will had made  
  
her nervous all night, and it was just as bad now. Worse, because no  
  
one was there.  
  
Jessica looked at Will, who was mopping up the floor in the corner. She  
  
dumped the wet coffee grounds into the trash, and then began to wipe  
  
down the counter. At least Will was on the other side of the room.  
  
Twenty minutes later, Jessica looked around the coffee shop, noting  
  
everything was in place. She wiped at a last spot on the counter, and then  
  
tossed in into the bin for dirty towels. She saw Will finish wiping  
  
down the last table, and walked over to the counter. She was about to go  
  
grab her purse, when she felt an arm on her shoulder.  
  
"What are you doing?" she demanded as Will pulled her back behind the  
  
counter. "Will… what the…" She felt him push her down to the floor.  
  
"Stop!" she screamed.  
  
The next thing she knew, Will's hands were under her back, trying to  
  
take her tee shirt. From above her, Will shot her an evil smile. And  
  
everything fell into place, and Jessica realized exactly what was going to  
  
happen to her. 


	7. Don't Say It

Chapter Seven  
  
Don't Say It  
  
Jessica closed her eyes tightly, trying to do anything but focus on  
  
what was happening. But it was no use. She could still feel Will on top of  
  
her, what he was doing to her. Focus on something else, she commanded  
  
herself. But it was no use, as the thoughts still echoed in her head.  
  
Even as she did her best to push out all thoughts, it was no use. She  
  
could hear warnings about pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases  
  
flashing in her mind, and it scared every bit as much as what was going  
  
on. But above all, one thought was centered in Jessica's head.  
  
Will Simmons is raping you. Even with as bizarre as he'd been acting  
  
lately, with as freaked out he'd made her feel, Jessica never thought  
  
that things could ever go this far. From the corner of her mind, she  
  
remember Jeremy telling her to be careful.  
  
Jeremy. Immediately, Jessica's thoughts moved to him. How could she  
  
ever tell him? And if she did, what would he do? Jessica felt like she was  
  
going to cry. She knew that she wouldn't be able to tell him. It would  
  
hurt him too much.  
  
At that moment, Jessica felt Will move his lips from hers, and up her  
  
check to her ear. "Isn't this fun?" he said whispering evilly. "We're  
  
meant to be."  
  
Jessica tried to push him back, but it was useless. He had to have  
  
weighed more then fifty pounds more then she, and was at least half a foot  
  
taller. "Stop!" Jessica pleaded. "Will, please stop."  
  
Pulling his face back into view, he looked at her sinisterly, "No."  
  
After what seemed like hours, Jessica felt Will pull off of her. She  
  
took a few gasping breathes, watching him stand up. Leaning over  
  
painfully, she grabbed her bra from the floor next to her. She slipped it on,  
  
and snapping it, realizing how sore she was. She quickly grabbed the  
  
rest of her clothes and put them back on. She finally looked back up to  
  
Will, tears falling from her eyes. "You're a bastard." She choked out,  
  
struggling to stand up.  
  
Will's gray-blue eyes flashed angrily, quickly walking over to her, he  
  
shoved her backwards, making her hit her back against the counter.  
  
Jessica balanced herself out, ignoring the pain in her back. She tried to  
  
look Will in the eye, but she couldn't.  
  
"Listen," he demanded, grabbing her arm, hard. "You tell anyone," he  
  
hissed, "And I swear to God I'll kill you!" With that, he wrenched her  
  
arm backwards, and Jessica could here it crack. She took a deep breath,  
  
trying to ease the pain. Making sure Will was out the door, She slid her  
  
back down the counter, clutching her arm, and crying hard.  
  
A few minutes later, Jessica reached up to dry her eyes, She stood up,  
  
feeling it in every part of her body. She took a deep breath, realizing  
  
there no way she could drive home by herself. Her arm felt like it was  
  
broken, and it hurt badly. She was going to have to have someone else  
  
come get her or something- and there was no way she could tell her  
  
parents.  
  
Looking up at the clock, Jessica saw it was a quarter after one. She  
  
thought of everyone that she knew she could trust- that wouldn't mind at  
  
one a.m. phone call. Realizing that her options were limited, Jessica  
  
reached the phone, and decided to try Melissa. She knew that she'd have  
  
her cell phone in her room, and she hooked it up at night to charge,  
  
but it still rang.  
  
Shakily, Jessica dialed the numbers. One ring, two… three… four…  
  
Jessica was about ready to hang up, but she heard it click on.  
  
"Hello?" Melissa asked sleepily.  
  
"Melissa?" Jessica said, trying not to cry. It was no use. She felt the  
  
tears slipping down her face.  
  
"Jessica?" Melissa asked, her voice questioning, "Where are you? Are  
  
you okay?"  
  
Jessica was silent for a moment. "I'm still at work. I'm… I'm not  
  
okay." She burst into another round of tears.  
  
"Jess? What happened?"  
  
"Will… Will…" Jessica chocked, not being able to say it.  
  
"Are you hurt?"  
  
"I… I think my arm's broken."  
  
"Jess?" Melissa asked, trying to calm her friend. "Do you need me to  
  
come get you? I'd be glad too."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Jessica heard the phone click, and sat down hard on the couch in the  
  
break room.  
  
Melissa quickly throw on some jean shorts and a tee shirt, and quietly  
  
walked down the stairs. She grabbed her mom's car keys from the key  
  
rack, and then scribble a quick note saying that a friend needed a ride  
  
desperately. She didn't know what was happening with Jessica, but she  
  
knew it was serious enough to risk getting grounded for.  
  
She slipped out the front door, and into the garage. Backing out in her  
  
mother's Lexus, Melissa realized that it was pouring rain outside. Oh  
  
well. It had been overcast all day, so it didn't surprise her. She  
  
pulled out, onto the road toward HOJ. She quickly noted she was the only one  
  
out on the street that night. Melissa tried to calm her nerves. She was  
  
extremely worried about Jessica.  
  
She'd heard her say Will's name, and them made it worse. She'd known  
  
Will could do some messed up things.  
  
Five minutes later, Melissa pulled haphazardly into the parking lot.  
  
She got out, slammed the door, and ran toward the building. It was odd  
  
coming in at one thirty a.m. She rushed in, and walked toward the break  
  
room. "Jess!"  
  
"I'm in here." She heard her say softly. Melissa pushed the door open,  
  
and sat down on the couch. Her friend looked horrible. Her cloths were  
  
disheveled, her hair ratted, and her face red from crying.  
  
"Jess," Melissa said softly, putting her hand on Jessica's shoulder.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
Jessica turned to face her, wiping away some tears. She took a deep  
  
breath. "Will… Will… he… he… he raped me." She choked out.  
  
Melissa felt her heart drop. No. It couldn't be. But she could tell  
  
Jessica wasn't kidding. "Oh, Jess, I'm so sorry," She said gently,  
  
touching her friend's shoulder. "When?"  
  
"After closing. We were both working, and…" Jessica trailed off,  
  
looking at Melissa. "Oh God, I don't know what to do."  
  
"Jess, let me see your arm," Melissa said gently. Jessica obediently  
  
held it out for her. Melissa looked at it for amount, quickly deciding it  
  
was broken. "Come on. You need to have that set."  
  
She helped Jessica stand up, walked her toward the door. Jessica  
  
stopped, reaching up and setting something on the security system. Then she  
  
followed mutely out the door.  
  
Once in the car, Melissa let Jessica sit down before she sat down  
  
herself. As Melissa pulled out of the parking lot. "Do you mind leaving the  
  
Jeep?"  
  
"No." Jessica shook her head. "Thanks for getting me."  
  
"No problem," Melissa said, pulling into the street.  
  
"Omigod," Jessica exclaimed, "What am I going to tell the people at the  
  
hospital?" She said, panicked.  
  
"Jessica," Melissa said quietly, "You're not going to like this, but  
  
you're going to have to tell them that you were raped, and what happened.  
  
I know it'll be tough, but that's what you have to do."  
  
"I can't." Jessica insisted.  
  
Melissa sighed, letting loose a deep breath. She'd sacrificed so much  
  
to keep her secret safe, but Jessica need to know this. "Jess, Will had  
  
his abusive tendencies."  
  
"Like what?" Jessica asked immediately.  
  
"Will used to hit me all the time." Melissa looked at the shocked look  
  
on Jessica's face. "And it wasn't anything little. You saw that scar at  
  
my house that one day. That's not from cheerleading, but Will slammed  
  
me into the wall once."  
  
"I never knew." Jessica replied, trying to process the information.  
  
"No one did. I never told them." Melissa said, pulling into the  
  
hospital parking. "Now come on. Can you tell them what happened?"  
  
"I'll…I'll try." Jessica said. "I'm scared."  
  
"It'll be okay," Melissa said reassuringly. "Don't worry, it's going to  
  
be okay."  
  
Jessica back on the elbow of her good arm as Dr. Chandler covered her  
  
broken arm with gaze so she could put on a cast. She'd had to get  
  
x-rays, which had showed that Will had broken it in two places.  
  
She looked at Melissa, whom they'd allowed in the area with her. She'd  
  
been so scared to tell what had happened, she'd just said that she'd  
  
fallen down the stairs at work. Thankfully, Melissa hadn't said anything.  
  
Jessica knew that it was in her best interest to press charges, but she  
  
was too scared to do so. It would come later.  
  
An hour later, Melissa quietly led Jessica to the parking lot. "Are you  
  
doing a little better, Jess?"  
  
Jessica nodded, walking toward the passenger side of Melissa's mom's  
  
Lexus. "Yeah."  
  
Melissa nodded, unlocking the door. She could tell by the look on her  
  
face that she was lying, but didn't say anything. She couldn't even  
  
imagine the emotional turmoil Jessica was going through, so she just didn't  
  
say anything about.  
  
Melissa backed out of the parking spot, and onto the street. "Are you  
  
sure you don't want me to call your mom and tell her what happened?"  
  
Once they'd gotten to the hospital, Jessica had called her parents saying  
  
she'd broken her arm at work, and Melissa had taken her to the  
  
hospital. Her dad had wanted to come and check on her, but she finally  
  
convinced him that she was okay, and she was so tired she was going to stay at  
  
Melissa's house for the night. Grudgingly, her parents had agreed.  
  
"No." Jessica said firmly. "Thanks for everything tonight."  
  
"No problem." Melissa said, looking over at her friend, thankful that  
  
it had stopped raining. "I know what it's like to be abused by Will."  
  
Jessica nodded, "But why'd you stay with him, then?"  
  
Melissa took a deep breath. "There's a lot of stuff that you don't  
  
know. But I'll tell you, if it helps you understand." Jessica nodded. "If  
  
you hadn't noticed, my family life isn't that great. Mom and I don't  
  
have a good relationship… and dad's never home. Anyway, in eighth grade,  
  
it was like everything was wrong, and I just… I'm not proud of this… I  
  
took a whole bottle of sleeping pills. I nearly died, Jess…"  
  
"Omigod… I never knew…" Jessica stuttered. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be. It was my fault. And Will and I had been dating for a few  
  
months, and he promised he'd never leave me, and it helped so much."  
  
"And in some ways, things got better. Well, until the end of freshmen  
  
year. One day, Will just went off and slugged me. And I didn't know what  
  
to do. But he apologized the next day, and I felt better."  
  
Melissa said slowly. "I was so naïve."  
  
"So what happened," Jessica asked intently, "Did he stop?"  
  
"Yes and no." Melissa sighed. "It stopped through the summer, and the  
  
first semester of sophomore year. Then it started again. But only for a  
  
few weeks, and Will was so apologetic." Melissa stopped. "And then I  
  
fell into his little game again, and he convinced me to have sex with  
  
him. And I did."  
  
"I knew you guys had… but not that early." Jessica stated quietly.  
  
"Well, it kept happening. And we weren't always smart. We used condoms  
  
on and off, but I'd say we usually didn't. But then it happened over  
  
spring break. I missed my period. I was so scared, and I decided to go to  
  
the doctors…" Melissa closed her eyes. "I was pregnant."  
  
Jessica's mouth dropped open. "What did you do?"  
  
"I was only fifteen at the time. Of course, I told Will immediately. We  
  
talked about it for a long time, and I wanted to give the baby up for  
  
adoption. But Will won't have it. He said that my parents would kill me,  
  
and the same with his. But I was still stubborn…"  
  
"Did you have the baby?"  
  
Melissa shook her head. "Will wouldn't have it. He finally threatened  
  
that he wouldn't love me if I didn't have an abortion. I didn't know  
  
better. I thought he really loved me, I didn't know how to live without  
  
him. So I did." She closed her eyes. "I regret that more than anything  
  
I've ever done."  
  
"Melissa…" Jessica said softly. It wasn't until now that she realized  
  
how much Melissa was going through, as well. It made her even more  
  
scared, remember Will's threat to kill her.  
  
"And the abuse started again. All through junior year. And then… about  
  
a month before prom, he shoved me down the stairs, and I ended up in  
  
the hospital. I threaten to tell everyone he'd been hitting me, and he  
  
said that if I did, he'd tell my parents had an abortion. I couldn't, so  
  
I told them I'd slipped down the stairs. And after that, I think Will  
  
got scared. He never hit me again, and acted like the ideal boyfriend. I  
  
thought things were perfect. So when he went after you, I freaked. So I  
  
ruined your rep. And then when he dumped me, I thought everything was  
  
over. And you know what happened from there." Melissa sighed. "I've  
  
never told anyone. Never." 


	8. Gotta Keep Smiling

Chapter Eight  
  
Gotta Keep Smiling  
  
THREE WEEKS LATER…  
  
"Liz," Conner said, gently shaking her arm on Friday morning. "Time to wake up. We've got school." He looked at her sleeping form, wishing he didn't have to wake her. She looked so sweet and peaceful, and he knew that she'd probably be sick the moment she woke up. "Liz…"  
  
Conner saw her roll over from her side onto her back, opening her eyes halfway. "Huh?" she asked, sitting up, confused.  
  
"School?" Conner questioned her. "It's Monday morning?"  
  
"Oh." Elizabeth groaned, pushing some of her hair out of her face. "Ugh!" She said suddenly, laying back down. "I feel like a freight train slammed into me."  
  
Conner eased himself so he was sitting on the edge of her bed. He looked down to her face, which she had her eyes closed again. "Do you feel too bad to go?"  
  
Elizabeth nodded weakly. "I don't think I can do it today. I'm sorry."  
  
Conner leaned down, kissing her forehead. "No problem. I know how sick you've been." Then a slight smile creped onto his face. "Do you object for me saying I'm sick today, too?"  
  
Elizabeth watched the twinkle in his green eyes. "No, but what about your mom?"  
  
Conner grinned. "She left for a charity meeting, all day. And trust me, Megan won't care. And even if mom was home, I don't think she'd really care either." He stopped, then smiled again. "And remember, we have a half day today, so we won't be missing too much."  
  
  
  
Jessica walked slowly down the hall before school on Wednesday, down to her locker. She'd taken the long route too it, to avoid seeing Will at his locker. But, ultimately, that meant avoiding Melissa as well. At least they'd seen each other that morning, consider Melissa had been Jessica's personal chauffer since Will had broken her arm.  
  
Jessica spun her lock through the combination the best that she could with her left arm. It was just her luck that Will had to break her right arm, wasn't it? Well, it at least got her out of some assignments. Most of her teachers had felt sorry for her, so maybe it was a slight advantage.  
  
Balancing the books she'd need for her first two periods on her cast, Jessica looked down the hall, in the direction of Conner's locker. He wasn't there yet, and checking the hall clock, she knew that was unusual. Only ten minutes to the homeroom bell.  
  
Homeroom… Jessica shivered, unintentionally. Will was in her homeroom, which made things even worse. Often, he'd turn around at her and smile evil, making her get the chills, wondering if he knew she'd told Melissa, if he was plotting anything else against her.  
  
Jessica took a deep breath, looking down at her loose fitting jeans and oversized SVH tee shirt. Even dressed like that, she still felt like a slut. Don't think about it. Jessica commanded herself, but it was no use. The images from the attack swam through her mind.  
  
"Hey! Hey, Jess!" She heard someone practically screaming her name. She turned around to see Tia almost flying down the hall. Slowing her pace, she shuffled over to Jessica. "Omigod! Jess, I feel so bad for you! Have you heard the rumors?" Tia gasped out in one breath, her face flushed from sprinting through the halls.  
  
Jessica felt her blood run cold. "No." She said cautiously, immediately feeling tense. "What's going around?"  
  
Tia's eyes opened wide. "I hate to be the one to tell you, but someone's spreading rumors that you and Will rounded the bases last weekend."  
  
"No." Jessica whispered softly. It couldn't be. "No." she said again. "Listen, Tee, I've gotta go. Bye." Jessica turned around, and dashed down the hall.  
  
  
  
Finally, Jessica thought at the end of the school day, walking towards her locker. It had been a horrible day. Everyone was whispering about her, and a few of the jocks had called her a slut again. It hurt even more now then it ever had before. She felt as if she'd done something to provoke it. Reaching her locker, she leaned her back against it, closing her eyes for the briefest second. Then she opened them again, letting out a sharp breath. Jessica wished Elizabeth had been there to talk to. She'd need to vent on her sister more than anything. Maybe not to tell her what happen, but just about the rumors, even. It would improve her mood some.  
  
The only thing that she really had to be thankful for was that SVH was letting out at ten fifty five, which meant she could just go home and avoid everyone and everything, which is all that she felt up too. Shoving all of her books in her locker, Jessica slammed the door shut loudly, and turned around letting out her breath, not even realizing that she'd been holding it. She leaned back against her locker, hoping Melissa would be there soon, so she could just get out of there.  
  
Jessica closed her eyes for a split second, trying to push all thoughts of Will, the rumors, everything out of her mind. She sighed loudly.  
  
"Have a bad day?" Jessica opened her eyes immediately, turning to face her left. Jeremy was standing there, a grin on his face, and a twinkle in his brown eyes.  
  
"Um… yeah, I guess you could say so." Jessica stammered quickly, hoping he hadn't been staring at her blank look for very long. This was not what she needed right now. Yes, she loved Jeremy, and didn't mind seeing him, but she just wasn't up to anything. It was obvious he'd planned to surprise her, and probably take her out to lunch or something.  
  
"That's too bad," he said, concerned. "Do you want to talk about it?"  
  
Jessica shook her head. "It's really not a big deal. I just had a hard morning."  
  
Jeremy nodded sympathetically, and then smiled again. "Well, how do you think a picnic lunch for two sounds to cheer you up?"  
  
Jessica forced a grin onto her face, hoping he didn't catch her lack of enthusiasm. "Great." She said, taking his hand, and letting her lead her to the parking lot.  
  
  
  
"God, Sandy, how much pizza can you eat?" Conner said in astonishment as his little sister grabbed yet another piece from the box. Once Megan had gotten home from school, she, Elizabeth and Conner had order pizza, and Megan had to have been on her sixth piece.  
  
"A lot, obviously," Elizabeth said, laughing, pushing the crusts of the two pieces she'd eaten away on her plate. Conner smiled. Of all the times they'd order pizza, he'd never once seen Elizabeth eat the crusts, and he thought that it was cute. He shot her a quick smile.  
  
"I'm a growing girl," Megan amended, taking a huge bite. "I the energy. I've got soccer tonight." She grinned triumphantly. "It's the championship game."  
  
"That's great!" Conner exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
Megan shrugged. "I guess I forgot. I figured that you'd be busy anyway."  
  
Conner bit his lip. He knew what she meant. He'd been so wrapped up with Elizabeth's pregnancy, that he knew he'd been ignoring his sister. He looked down for a brief moment, and when he looked back up, Megan was glancing between him and Elizabeth. Conner hoped Elizabeth would say something.  
  
"Do you mind a few extra fans?" Elizabeth said, almost reading his mind. "I'm feeling pretty good, and I'd love to come if Conner wants too."  
  
Conner smiled at her, happy she'd be willing to do so. "Wouldn't miss it!" He said, smiling at both his girlfriend and his sister.  
  
Half an hour later, Conner lay sprawled across Elizabeth's bed, her laying against him. "If nice of you to give up your evening for her." Conner said slowly, looking over at her. "Are you sure that you feel up to it?"  
  
Elizabeth propped herself up on one elbow. "I'm doing much better then I have in days. I'll be fine for a few hours. Besides," she shrugged, "Megan's my friend, too."  
  
Conner nodded, silently looking over at her, studying her face. Even when she was almost six months pregnant, she looked gorgeous. Or at least that way to him. He looked down to her pregnant stomach for only a second. He knew she hated it when anyone stared, even him.  
  
Speaking of which, she looked farther along then six months. Even though she'd been careful, Conner still worried after what the doctor had said. He didn't want anything to happen to her, that was all.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" Elizabeth's voice interrupted softly.  
  
Conner wrapped an arm around her and smiled. "You."  
  
  
  
Jessica took a bite of her sandwich, trying to think of something to fill in the awkward silence between her and Jeremy. Usually they could talk about anything, but today Jessica just felt so distant from him. She bit her lip, noticing he was looking down at the picnic table.  
  
God, she felt so bad. He'd must have worked hard plan this. He'd made her favorite type of sandwich, pasta salad, and homemade cookies she'd assumed his sisters had made. And even in her foul mood, she had to admit the view at the park he'd taken her to in Big Mesa was breathtaking. She sat down her sandwich on her plate, looking up again and noticing Jeremy was staring at her intentionally. "I didn't thank you for getting me." She said quietly. "I really appreciate this." Jessica looked at him, a slight smile on her lips. It was all that she could manage.  
  
"Umm… yeah." Jeremy said, looking at the cast on her arm, which she'd lain down on the table. "I actually kind of wanted to talk to you. It's important."  
  
Jessica's expression remained as calm as she could control, considering that her heart was racing and she was panicking that he'd found out that Will had raped her. She didn't want to deal with that. "About what?" She said finally, adverting her eyes.  
  
Jeremy's expression softened. "You've been different the last few weeks. Quite, reserved. That's not you. You've been distant… so much so I don't know how to act around you."  
  
Jessica swallowed hard. He wasn't breaking up with her, was he? Jessica needed him, just being with him made things seem better. Not much better, but better. "And?" she said softly, fearfully.  
  
"I don't know how to act around you any more. It's like, you changed overnight." Jeremy looked at her, his brown eyes filled with regret. "At work, on dates… especially the other night. It's like you've been forcing yourself to be around me. I love you, Jess, but I can't have things like this. It's too much, and it leaves me wondering where we stand." The pain in his voice was so real, for a moment, Jessica just wanted to lean over and hug him, tell him things were going to go back to the way the where. But she couldn't lie.  
  
"I don't want to break up," he continued, not looking her in the eye, "But I need to know what's going on. If something is wrong Jess, then let me know. You know you can trust me, right?" Jeremy concluded, searching her eyes for answers. "Please."  
  
Jessica looked down so he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. "Everything's fine." She said meekly, forcing a smile, but Jeremy saw right through it.  
  
"If you can't trust me, Jess, just say it." Jeremy said, a slight anger rising to his voice. "And then we can get this over with and break up." He turned, and Jessica could tell he was struggling to keep his cool. She couldn't tell him though, she just didn't have it in her.  
  
After several minutes pause, Jeremy stood up, gathering the stuff. "Look, I'm going to wait by the car. I'll take you home when you're ready." He began to walk away, and Jessica couldn't take it anymore. She burst into tears.  
  
She tried to stop, but it didn't help. She was losing Jeremy. She couldn't believe it, but she was losing him. That's when Jessica realized he was still there, and had sat down next to her, his hand on her shoulder. "Jess, what's wrong?"  
  
Bowing her head, Jessica felt him wrap his arms around her. "It was Will," she choked. "Will raped me."  
  
  
  
Jeremy wrapped his arms around Jessica as she leaned back against her chest, resting her head on his shoulder. It was about an hour or so later, and he'd taken her over to his house, and they were sitting in his room on his bed. After she'd broken the news that Will had raped her, she'd been crying so hard that he'd just taken her back to his house. Once she'd calmed down, she'd told him what had happened.  
  
"Are you doing better now?" he asked, gently kissing the top of her head. Jessica pulled back, looking at his face.  
  
"I think so," she said shakily. "But I don't know what I'm going to do."  
  
Jeremy pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her to her back. "Jess, you need to press charges."  
  
"I know, I know." Jessica said quietly, "But I'm so scared." She bit her lip, debating on whether or not to tell him that Will had threatened her. She hadn't even told Melissa. "Will threatened me. He said that he'd kill me if I told anyone."  
  
Oh God. Jeremy felt his heart thud against his chest. "Jess…."  
  
"I'm so scared." Jessica said, looking up at him, tears beginning to fill her eyes. "I don't know what to do."  
  
"Don't cry, baby." Jeremy said, brushing a tear away from her cheek. "You're going to make it. I know you, and I know that you can get through this."  
  
Jessica nodded, pulling out of his arms, and leaning back against the wall. "I hope so." She said nervously.  
  
"Are you going to tell your parents?"  
  
Jessica hadn't even thought about that. "I can't, not by myself," she said, shakily, "I couldn't get through it."  
  
"You have to tell them," Jeremy said, looking into her blue green eyes, searching for any traces of the spark that had lit them only weeks before. "They need to know."  
  
Jessica shook her head. "No. I can't. They're going through enough, now."  
  
"Listen, I'll help you tell them. I'm here for you Jess."  
  
She bit her lip, and nodded. "Okay."  
  
Jeremy nodded. "I don't know if you're pressing charges or not, but you will go to the doctors and get checked out, won't you?"  
  
Jessica nodded slowly, going through a mental calendar. One, two, three… "No." she whispered slightly.  
  
"What?"  
  
Jessica looked up at him, about to cry. "My period. It's three days late." Jessica bit her lip. "I'm never late." 


	9. The Truth of the Matter

Chapter Nine  
  
The Truth of the Matter  
  
Will Simmons  
  
I love Jessica. I really do. What I did to her makes me sick. I never wanted to hurt her, truly. I just couldn't hold back my hormones in the situation. I love her, and I wish that I hadn't made her go through this. It kills me to see her now… she's no longer herself. She isn't bright and bubbly, and she looks ready to cry every time that she sees me in the halls at school. But in a way, it is her fault. She shouldn't have ever fallen in love with Aames. She should have been with me the moment that I asked her. Yes, what I did was wrong, but it was her fault too. In fact, she shouldn't have resisted. Jessica and I were meant to be together.  
  
But even more so then hurting Jessica, I can't believe that I did this again. After last year, I swore I would never put another girl through this. Yet I did, and I'm ashamed of this. No. Jessica provoked it… not like Megan. Not at all like Megan.  
  
Jeremy Aames  
  
God, why did this happen to Jess now, right when she was completely over Will Simmons, and happy? Well, I assume she was happy. You know what I mean. But I knew Simmons was making Jess feel uneasy at school, and work, and God knows where else. Yet I never thought he'd go so far as to rape Jessica. I can't even imagine the emotional turmoil she's going through. Even though she didn't do anything wrong, I know that Jess is blaming herself. She even told me that she felt like a slut… but she isn't one.  
  
Even more so, more then Will threatening her, what scares the hell out of me is that she missed her period. I know that her period's pretty regular… her bitching about cramps at the end of the month is as predictable as her bitching about early morning HOJ shifts. But I don't even want to think what this could mean, you know? She could be pregnant, or have an STD, or anything, and it could make everything so much worse for her then it already is.  
  
Jeremy looked at Jessica from across the Wakefield's kitchen table, where Jessica was pretending to be fascinated by twirling her spaghetti on her fork. Meanwhile, Mr. Wakefield was launching rapid fire questions at Jeremy, ranging from everything from football to academics to the future. Though he and Jessica had been dating for almost six months, Mr. Wakefield hadn't really gotten to know Jeremy.  
  
After talking for almost another hour, Jeremy convinced her to tell her parents right away. She'd asked her mom if Jeremy could stay for dinner, because they'd wanted to talk to them. Jeremy had held true to his promise to help her through it. Quickly meeting her eye, Jeremy offered her a calming smile, reading through her expression. He knew she was scared about telling them what had happened, along with that she'd missed her period.  
  
Thirty minutes later, they Wakefields, along with Jeremy, had finished dinner, and Jessica and Jeremy had help Mrs. Wakefield clean up. Jessica shot her boyfriend a quick glance, knowing that they couldn't avoid the subject any longer. Thankfully, he grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.  
  
"Okay, kids, thanks for helping me clean up," Mrs. Wakefield smiled, wiping her hands on a dish towel, "You said that you needed to talk to us. Why don't we sit down in the living room?"  
  
Jessica nodded, walking behind her parents into the living room, and sitting down next to Jeremy on the love seat, which was across from her parents.  
  
"So, sweetie, what did you want to tell us?" Ned said, casting a glance between her daughter and her boyfriend. Jessica bit her lip nervously.  
  
"Mom, dad…" she said slowly, searching for the words. She felt Jeremy give her a quick pat on the back. "This has to be the hardest think that I ever told you…" Jessica stopped, not knowing how to say what she needed too.  
  
She saw her parents share a parental look, a worried one at that. Jessica took a deep breath, then let it out. "Three weeks ago, Will… Will Simmons raped me…" she rushed on, tears forming in her eyes, but she kept her cool. "That's… that's how I broke my arm…" She looked at the shocked expressions on her parents faces.  
  
"Jess," her moms start, leaning over to touch her daughter's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell us sooner?"  
  
"I don't know," Jessica said softly, clutching Jeremy's hand tightly. "But that's not all. I… I missed my period. It's three days late…"  
  
At that point, her father, who'd sat like stone since she'd broken the news. "I'm sure, Jessica." He said sarcastically, "Yeah, I'm sure you were raped. No, not at all. I'll bet anything that you've been slipping with Jeremy, and you're too ashamed to admit your pregnant. Just like your no- good sister!" He roared, and pointed at Jeremy. "And you! Encouraging my daughter to tell lies… well, I ought to…"  
  
Jessica burst into tears. How could he do this to her? She bowed her head, and immediately felt Jeremy wrap an arm around her, trying to comfort her. "Daddy… please…" Jessica choked. "I did get raped. You have to believe me." She pleaded, looking into her dad's eyes, which were set as firm as rocks.  
  
Her dad shook his head, looking at them. "Don't even lie to me, Jessica. If that's how you're going to be, you can leave this house now." Ned looked at her, and then looked at Jeremy in disgust. "How long have you and Jessica been having sex, anyway?" he growled.  
  
"Ned, stop it, now." Mrs. Wakefield interjected, touching her husbands arm. "So she and Jeremy have been sleeping together. Well, that's old news to me. I was the one that helped her get the prescription for birth control pills."  
  
Jessica looked up again, and Jeremy let out the breath he'd been holding. Ned looked between the three of them in shock. "Is this true, Jessica?"  
  
Jessica nodded. "I didn't want to get pregnant if Jeremy and I slept together. So I talked to mom about getting on some birth control pills." She looked up at her dad, her eyes still blurry with tears.  
  
Alice looked from her daughter to her husband, and addressed Jessica. "Honey, were you on the pills… when Will attacked you."  
  
Jessica nodded. "Yeah, and I went off of them two days later."  
  
Alice nodded. "I'm going to call and get you a doctors appointment, okay?"  
  
Jessica nodded again, relived her mom was taking over. She leaned back, and Jeremy squeezed her hand again.  
  
Mr. Wakefield nodded. "I'm sorry Jess, Jeremy. I just didn't know what to make of it." He leaned over, and hugged his daughter. "We're here for you, sweetie."  
  
Jessica nodded, leaning back against Jeremy. She nodded, wiping away her tears. Alice and Ned shared another parental look.  
  
"Jess, are you going to press charges? After all, Will could do this to another girl." Alice said gently, studying her daughters face.  
  
"I don't know. I don't think I could get through it." Jessica said shakily.  
  
Ned nodded. "Okay. Why don't you go upstairs and calm down a bit, okay? Your mother is going to call the doctors, and I'd like to speak to her alone." He gave them a smile, and Jessica nodded, letting Jeremy help her up, and wrapping an arm around her as they walked to her room.  
  
Once in there, she collapsed next to Jeremy on her bed, leaning against his chest. "Thank God that's over." She whispered.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Jessica woke up fairly early on Saturday morning, still tired from the night before. Jeremy had stayed until after one, and then she'd talked to her mom for almost an hour after that. She'd only gotten a few hours of sleep, because she'd spent a lot of time tossing and turning, trying to focus on anything but her doctors appointment that afternoon. She didn't know what she should expect, knowing anything could be wrong. Her mom had told her to hope for the best, but be prepared for the worse- if she was pregnant or had an STD.  
  
Letting out a small sigh, Jessica slipped out from under her fluffy comforter, and walked over to her dresser. Ever since her dad had thrown Elizabeth out, they'd saved Saturdays for a sisters day, so they could just get together and talk. They were going to go to the mall that day, because Elizabeth had need some new clothes for herself, as well as wanting to look for some things for the babies. Even as downcast as Jessica felt, she couldn't wait to see her sister.  
  
Slipping on a pair of faded boot cut jeans and her SVH cheerleading shirt, Jessica grabbed her hairbrush, and combed out her blonde hair. She slipped on her worn pair of doc martins to complete her outfit, and decided to skip wearing make up.  
  
Jessica walked slowly down the stairs, checking the time on the hall clock. Eight thirty, and she'd said she'd pick Elizabeth up around nine. Walking into the kitchen, she forced a smile on her face. Elizabeth had enough going wrong in her life, and Jessica didn't want to add anymore stress to that.  
  
Jessica walked over to the counter, opening the cabinet. She was thankful her dad wasn't in the kitchen. Things between them had been a little awkward, from the scene the night before. She knew he'd felt bad about yelling at her, but it still hurt to think that he could every accuse her of lying when she needed him the most.  
  
Grabbing a granola bar and a can of V8, Jessica sat down at the table, wondering what she'd do if something was wrong. She closed her eyes, praying everything was okay. At least if something was wrong, she undoubtedly knew that she'd have her mom and Jeremy's support. The night before, when they were talking, Jeremy had said he'd always love her, no matter what, and it had helped Jessica more then anything.  
  
"Hey sweetie." Jessica looked up to see her mom standing in the doorway, wearing her pajama's, robe and fuzzy slippers. Even in her foul mood, Jessica had to smile at her mother's choice of clothing. "So, what's up for the day?"  
  
Jessica watched her mom sit down next to her. "Oh, Liz and I are going to go shopping. She's really been gaining weight, and needs some stuff, and she wanted to look at some baby stuff before she and Conner go out and buy any."  
  
Mrs. Wakefield nodded. "Can you be back by three? You have an appointment with the doctor at four." Jessica nodded nervously, giving her mom a weak smile.  
  
"Okay, I'll be back by then." Jessica assured, then bit her lip. "Um, mom, would it be okay if Jeremy comes with us?" I kind of wanted for him to be there, you know?"  
  
Mrs. Wakefield nodded, placing her hand over her daughters. "That's fine, honey. Jeremy's always welcome, in my opinion. I'm glad that he's been helping you through all this." She leaned over, giving her daughter a hug. "Say hi to Liz for me."  
  
Jessica smiled, looking at her sister. Hanging around Elizabeth had done wonders for her spirits, and she wasn't in such a crappy mood anymore. They'd been at the Valley Mall for over an hour, just looking around. Honestly, Jessica thought that the whole morning would be a bunch of pretending to be happy and posing.  
  
Actually, though, Jessica was having a pretty good time looking through the clothes at Baby Gap, all things considered. Elizabeth hadn't been sick, and was in a bright, bubbly mood. So much so, Jessica hadn't though much of Will, or her doctors appointment the whole time.  
  
Looking over at her sister, she could barely believe how much weight she'd gained. Jessica knew she wasn't quite six months along, but she looked bigger then that, at least seven or eight months, but then again, she was carrying twins. Even with as much as things were against her, Jessica thought that Elizabeth was dealing with the situation well. In fact, she looked happy about it.  
  
"Aww…" Jessica said, looking at a cute little pink infant sleeper. "That's adorable, isn't it?"  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "You're right." She smiled at her sister, her blue green eyes sparkling with delight.  
  
Jessica smiled, glad her sister was so happy. "You never did tell me what sex the babies are," she reminded, "Are they going to be identical?"  
  
Elizabeth shook her head. "It's a boy and a girl." She gave her sister a big smile. "Conner and I are going to name them Sarah and Adam."  
  
"That's so cute…" Jessica said, studying her sisters face. "I can't wait to be an aunt!"  
  
Elizabeth smiled, eyes gleaming. "I think that I'm ready to be a mom… as bad as everything's been, but I think that Conner and I can handle it. The only thing I regret is I do wish we could have this happening, oh, three or four years from now."  
  
Jessica nodded. "When's the due date?"  
  
Elizabeth smiled. "August nineteenth. So we'll be cutting it pretty close to the beginning of the fall semester. Oh well."  
  
"Yeah." Jessica said, nodded, following her sister up to the register to get a few things that they'd picked out. Elizabeth had decided to go ahead and get them because there was an early summer sale going on, and a lot of the things had been marked down. "Anyway, I'll have to cut our trip a little short, because I've got a doctors appointment at four."  
  
Elizabeth turned around, looking at her concerned. "Are you okay? Is everything all right?"  
  
Oops. Jessica couldn't believe what she'd just said. She knew that she'd better tell the truth. Elizabeth would be able to tell if she was lying. She just watched her sister silently, as she paid for some of the baby clothes.  
  
Once out of the store, Elizabeth looked at her sister expectantly. "Well? What are you trying to hide from me, Jess?" She looked her sister over, waiting for Jessica's reply. "Jessica?" she prompted.  
  
Jessica wished she could avoid the situation all together, but she'd been the one that made the slip up, not Elizabeth. "There's been a lot going on in the past few weeks that you don't know about."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
Jessica adverted her eyes. "Will raped me, three weeks ago. That's how I broke my arm, and why I have to go to the doctors. My period is three days late."  
  
Elizabeth looked at her sister in shock. "Omigod, Jess," she said, placing her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"  
  
Jessica shook her head. "I didn't tell anyone, until yesterday. I broke down to Jeremy about it, and he convinced me to tell mom and dad."  
  
Elizabeth looked at her sister, who had tears forming in her eyes. She gave her a hug. "Jess, I'm so sorry that you had to deal with this alone. You should have told me."  
  
Jessica nodded. "I didn't want to. You had so much going on… with the babies and all… I didn't want to put any more stress on you."  
  
Elizabeth soften, "Listen Jess. No matter what happens, I'm your twin, and you always come first. Got it?"  
  
"Got it." Jessica said shakily, wiping the tears from her eyes. And she knew she had Elizabeth on her side, too.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Later that afternoon, Jessica sat clutching Jeremy's hand in the waiting room of the doctors office. She'd been through the examination, and was growing nervous. He'd said he'd be out in while with the results, and it had been an hour already. The doctor had said about thirty minutes, and the extra amount of time that it was taking was scaring Jessica.  
  
Obviously, Jeremy had picked up on her nervous vibes, because he let go of her hand, and patted her gently on the back. "Don't worry Jess. Every thing will be okay. And if it isn't…" he whispered, "We're here for you, okay?"  
  
Jessica nodded, looking at her mom, who hadn't said much while they'd been waiting. She knew that her mom was just worried about her, and wanted everything to be okay. Closing her eyes, Jessica mentally went over the exam. The first part had been fairly normal to her… she'd been to the gynecologist once before, she'd had a pretty good idea what was going to happen. The hardest part had been telling the doctor she'd been raped… especially when he'd told her that the police would have to be contacted under the law. She'd have to press charges now, whether she liked it or not.  
  
"Miss Wakefield?" Jessica looked up, to see the doctor standing in front of them. "Why don't you come back to my office and we'll discuss the results." She said, motioning the little group to follow her.  
  
Leading them in, the doctor shut the door behind them. Jessica, Jeremy, and her mom took their seats in the hard plastic chairs. Instinctively, Jessica gripped Jeremy's hand, praying for good news.  
  
The doctor looked at her clipboard, and then at them, her facial expression grim. Jessica felt her whole body stiffen. "Well, there's no sign of you being pregnant, and as for now, we don't see the trace of any STDs. But, there is something…" she stopped, looking at Jessica synthetically. "I'm not sure what caused this, but something has been messed up…"  
  
"And?" Jessica's mom prompted.  
  
"You'll never be able to have kids… I'm sorry."  
  
No, Jessica thought, her mind spinning. This couldn't have been happening. Whenever she'd pictured her future, she had always expected she'd have kids… and lately, she'd been picturing that future with Jeremy. Jessica could feel her eyes blur with tears, thinking of earlier that day, to as excited as Elizabeth had been as she talked about the twins… Jessica would never get to experience that.  
  
"No." she whispered, praying it wasn't true. "No." 


	10. Not a Smiling Matter

Chapter Ten  
  
Not a Smiling Matter  
  
Elizabeth pulled out the last one of the outfits she'd bought that day, and Conner nodded in approval. It was the little pink one Jessica had thought was so cute. "Like them?" she asked, smiling at him.  
  
"Of course. They're adorable, just like our kids will be." He kissed to top of her head, gently patting her stomach. Elizabeth smiled happily.  
  
Over the last few months, they'd both grown even closer, and the future had started looking much brighter. While she wasn't sure how things would work out with the twins as well as her and Conner's relationship, she was positive they'd get through this. Both were excited about having the twins, and in some aspects, having kids so young didn't seem so bad.  
  
"I really like the pink one," Conner said, leaning back on her bed. Elizabeth leaned down next to him, laying her head on his chest.  
  
"Actually, Jess picked that one out…" She sat up. "Speaking of Jess, I need to call her now, okay?"  
  
Conner nodded, getting up and kissing her on the check. "Sure. I'll be in my room if you need me later, okay?"  
  
Elizabeth nodded, grabbing the phone off her nightstand, and quickly dialing her home phone number.  
  
  
  
Jeremy watched Jessica lay down against his chest, gently sweeping her hair off her face. She'd finally stopped crying a few minutes ago. He knew she was taking this hard, and so was he. When he though about the future, he'd thought about Jessica, getting married someday, having kids together. But he knew that would change now.  
  
He looked at her, her eyes half closed. Jeremy knew that she was tired, she'd said earlier that day that she hadn't gotten much sleep. Jessica looked so fragile and vulnerable, dressed some old sweatpants, and one of his ratty old shirts that she practically swam in, which she'd changed into when he got home. Running his hand through her soft blonde hair, he began thinking of how unfair it had been that this had happened to her, now.  
  
At that moment, the phone rang. Jeremy looked down at his girlfriend, wondering if her mom would get it. Jessica opened her eyes, looking cautiously at her phone. After the second ring, it stopped, so he assumed that he mother had gotten it.  
  
"Are you doing better?" he asked softly.  
  
Jessica nodded, sitting up more, and letting him wrap his arms around her. "Yeah. I'm just having trouble… excepting all this."  
  
Jeremy nodded, his thoughts interrupted by a knock on the door.  
  
"Jessica, your sister is on the phone. Please pick it up, okay?" Mrs. Wakefield called.  
  
Jessica pulled back abruptly. "I can't," she whispered, looking up at him, her blue green eyes pained. "I can't tell Liz about this."  
  
Jeremy nodded, knowing how much she must be going through. "It's okay, sweetie. Do you want me to tell her?" He volunteered, hoping that was the right thing to do.  
  
"Would you?" she managed to give him a weak smile. "I can't tell Liz. I just can't."  
  
Jeremy nodded, kissing the top of her head, and then reaching over for the phone. Jessica got up. "I've got to use the bathroom."  
  
Jeremy nodded again. He knew she really meant she didn't want to talk about it. He grabbed the phone, and heard Mrs. Wakefield click off the line.  
  
"Jessica?" Elizabeth's voice, no doubt.  
  
"Um… no. Jeremy. She wanted me to talk to you." He said simply, hoping it wasn't too obvious something was wrong.  
  
"What happened?" Elizabeth demanded immediately, "What's wrong?"  
  
Jeremy took a deep breath. "There was some bad news at the doctors office," he said, slowly, then rushed on. "They found out that Jess isn't ever going to be able to have kids."  
  
Jeremy heard the gasp on the other end of the phone, and Jeremy felt horrible having to break the news to Elizabeth. He knew how close the twins were.  
  
"Oh God…" he heard Elizabeth say, obviously feeling horrible. "She's taking it hard, isn't she?"  
  
Jeremy nodded, then remembered he was on the phone. "Very. It took almost an hour for her to calm down." He said simply, looking at the closed bathroom door, hoping Jessica was okay.  
  
He heard Elizabeth let her breath out on the other end of the phone. "God! I feel so horrible! I was going on and on about the twins today, and it must make her feel even worse now." Elizabeth sighed. "I feel so bad about this. I didn't even realize something was wrong this morning, until she'd said she had a doctors appointment."  
  
Jeremy knew what she was going through. Guilt. He'd been going through it since the afternoon before, when Jessica had broken the news to him. "I know what you mean." He said absently.  
  
"What?"  
  
Jeremy figured he'd might as well tell her. "I didn't suspect anything until she'd told me- well, yeah, she'd changed, but I thought that it was because we were drifting apart or something." He swallowed. "And because I called in sick that night she was working with Simmons."  
  
"Jeremy…" he heard Elizabeth start, "Don't blame yourself, okay? Because I can tell from your tone of voice that that's what you're doing. Jessica doesn't blame you, so you shouldn't either."  
  
Jeremy knew she was right. But the fact still upset him. "I won't." he said uneasily.  
  
"Okay, that's good. I wish I could be there and talk to her, but I know she's having a tough time." Elizabeth said quickly. "I'm going to go, but please, just make sure she gets through it, okay?"  
  
"Yeah." He said. He would have done so, no matter what. "I'll have Jess call you later, if she's up to it, okay?"  
  
"Okay. Bye." Jeremy heard the line hang up, and he lay the phone back on the receiver. That had to have been the hardest conversation of his life.  
  
Elizabeth took a bite of her spaghetti, trying to focus on what Conner was saying, but the only thing that she could think about was her sister. Megan and Mrs. Sandborn were out for the evening, so Conner had fixed them dinner. After a moment, she realized that Conner was staring at her.  
  
"Liz, what's up?" he asked, in question to the blank look on his face. "I don't think that you've heard a word that I've said since we sat down."  
  
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said quickly, wiping the blank look off her face. "Just lost in thought."  
  
Conner raised his eyebrows. "Sorry Liz, but that was apparent. So, what's up? You never space like this if it's something major."  
  
Elizabeth sighed, knowing lying to him would be fruitless. He'd see right through it. She sighed. "Actually, it's about Jessica. She's going through some really hard times." She stopped, hoping that was a satisfactory answer.  
  
"And?"  
  
Okay, so it wasn't. "Well," Elizabeth started slowly. "I just found out this morning that Will Simmons raped her about three weeks ago." She said quickly, hoping he wouldn't ask anymore questions.  
  
Conner looked at her, obviously in shock. "How's she doing? Is she okay? Is Jess gonna press charges?"  
  
"She's not holding up too well," Elizabeth said truthfully. "I think that the emotional part is really getting to her. Jeremy's been there for her a lot, though, and I think that's helping." She stopped, debating on telling Conner the rest of it. Finally, her conscience picked up and she decided to tell him. "Jess had missed her period, so mom insisted on taking her to the doctors today. She just found out she'll never be able to have kids." Elizabeth felt her eyes fill with tears for her sister. "I feel so bad about it- it was just at the mall this morning that I was going on and on about the twins and stuff."  
  
Conner leaned over the table, touching her arm. "Sweetie, it's not your fault… you didn't know. So don't blame yourself."  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "Poor Jessica. I feel so bad for her. I know she isn't doing very well."  
  
Conner nodded. "I'm sorry. I know how close you and your sister are." He finished his plate, and rinsed it off, leaving it in the sink. "I hope she gets to doing better."  
  
Elizabeth smiled wanly, handing him her empty plate. "Thanks for dinner."  
  
Conner smiled, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her. Elizabeth didn't resist, but still was thinking of Jessica. She just prayed her sister could get through this.  
  
Jessica leaned her head against Jeremy's shoulder the next morning, his hand resting familiarly on her hip. Her dad, as well as Jeremy was taking her up to the police headquarters to press charges against Will. Jessica was extremely nervous, not knowing what to expect, and not knowing what people would think of her once they got word of the attack, the charges brought against Will.  
  
She felt Jeremy graze a kiss on the top of her head, as they stopped, waiting for her father to catch up with them in the parking lot, before they walked into the police building. "Don't worry Jess, it'll be okay." Jeremy whispered, "You're going to be fine." He broke away so he was facing her, holding her hands in his.  
  
Jessica looked up into his warm brown eyes, nodded slightly. "I don't know if you're right," she said slowly, "But I'll do what I can."  
  
Jeremy nodded in approval. "That's all I'm asking." He kissed her forehead. "I love you, Jess."  
  
Jessica smiled, hugging him. "I love you too."  
  
Twenty minutes later, Jessica walked alone into the office of the head of the human services department, which included the unit that worked with victims of rape and other sexual abuse. She pushed the door open, to reveal a petite, black woman sitting at the desk. She had a no-nonsense, yet concerned look on her face.  
  
"Hi." Jessica said nervously. "I'm Jessica Wakefield."  
  
The woman smiled, sticking her right hand out for Jessica to shake. She did. "Have a seat, Jessica. I'm Ray-Keisha Lomax, head of the human services department. I understand that you're here today to press charges for sexual abuse."  
  
Jessica nodded meekly. "Rape charges." She stuttered, losing the calmness she'd had moments before.  
  
The police woman nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry honey. By the way, call me Keisha."  
  
Jessica nodded. "Okay. Keisha."  
  
"Now, tell me what happened, and when."  
  
Jessica took a deep breath. "Three weeks ago yesterday, I was working at the House of Java until closing, with Will Simmons and Danny Harrington. Danny was replacing my boyfriend Jeremy, because he had the flu, so he was working in his place. At closing, Danny got out of there as quick as he could, and Will and I cleaned the place up. I was about ready to leave when… when Will shoved me done and raped me." Jessica choked out the last part, struggling to keep herself from crying.  
  
Keisha nodded. "I know it's hard, Jessica." Jessica nodded. "I know what you're going through. I was raped when I was about your age."  
  
Jessica dried the tears from her eyes. "You were?"  
  
Keisha nodded. "By my boyfriend. But we're hear to talk about you, not me." She looked at her sympathetically. "Where there any events leading up to when Will attacked you?"  
  
Jessica nodded, shakily telling her of all the whole drama at the beginning of the year, to when Will dumped Melissa, and began relentlessly trying to win her from Jeremy. She even told her of how uneasy he'd made her feel in recent weeks, and how even Jeremy hadn't trusted him in the slightest. When she finished, she realized that Keisha had been jotting down notes on a legal pad.  
  
"What are you writing?" Jessica asked hesitantly.  
  
"A ledger of what you're telling me. It'll help when we take this to court." She showed Jessica her notes. "You have quite a case against him." She tapped her pen back and forth against the track. "I believe all of this, but I don't know about the DA."  
  
"What?" Jessica asked, wondering what she was leading up to.  
  
Keisha stopped tapping the pen. "Well, it's a strong case- but it's all on circumstantial evidence. The fact that you used to date will could be used as a strong point for either side… either Will was spiteful you'd broken up, or you were upset that he dumped you."  
  
Jessica felt her stomach turn. She was right. It could be taken either way. "I know." She said finally, after a drawn out silence.  
  
Keisha nodded. "I'd like to talk to your boyfriend, since he works at House of Java, also. Plus, he knows what's been going on. Why don't you go and get him, okay?"  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Jessica took a deep breath before walking into school on Tuesday morning- her first day of the week. She'd been absent the day before, because she'd been too upset to go. Jessica also had know that Will would be back today.  
  
On Sunday night, Will had been taken into custody, for questioning. Once hearing his explanations, the SVPD had declared a shaky alibi, and had pressed charges against him. He'd been taken into jail overnight, and released Monday afternoon on a bond. Of course, when the press had heard about it, SVH star quarterback charged with rape, they'd jumped on it like a pack ravenous dogs. From what she'd heard from Elizabeth, it was all over school the next day.  
  
Knowing that much, Jessica knew that she'd been the focus of conversations, for both students and teachers. Walking through the main entrance, toward her locker, she heard the buzz in the hallway completely stop, all eyes on her. Yet she kept going, just hoping things would get better.  
  
Yeah, right. Jessica thought. By the end of the day they'll think that know the whole story, and have made a judgment on who's innocent and who's guilty. And Jessica didn't know who would stay in her favor once Will was back.  
  
Jessica reached her locker, noticing Melissa was waiting for her. Her dad had dropped her off at school that morning. She walked up to her, giving her the best smile she could, which was very slight.  
  
Wordlessly, Melissa gave her a hug. "I've heard," she stated. "Almost all the guys and most of the popular people are siding with Will. It doesn't look good for you Jess."  
  
Jessica nodded, "I know. The odds are against me."  
  
Melissa closed her eyes. "Jess," she said quietly, "I thought about this a lot last night, and I think that I'll come forward that Will was abusing me."  
  
Jessica looked at her in shock and disbelief. "Are you sure, Melissa?"  
  
"Yeah. I should have said something sooner… then you wouldn't be going through this now." She sighed, staring Jessica dead in the eye. "I'm sorry, Jess."  
  
Now it was Jessica's turn to give Melissa a hug. "It's not your fault. Really, it's not." She pulled back, seeing Melissa was about to cry. "I'm just glad that you're coming forward. Will shouldn't be able to get away with this. It's not right."  
  
Melissa nodded, quietly watching Jessica open her locker and take out her books. "I know. But it still doesn't make me any less nervous- I'm going to have to talk to my parents, about the abortion and everything. I don't know how they'll react."  
  
Jessica nodded, slamming shut her locker, and beginning to walk slowly towards her homeroom, Melissa following along next to her. "I don't think that they'll get too mad at you." Jessica said.  
  
Frowning, Melissa shook her head. "You know I don't have the best family life in the world, and I'm sure mom will be on my case about it, no matter what."  
  
Jessica smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry. I forgot." She hugged Melissa as she reached her homeroom. Waving with her good hand, she walked in, hoping that she, as well as Melissa, would make it through the day.  
  
Elizabeth flipped to the next page in her calculus book, trying to pay at least some attention to her schoolwork. It was hard, considering she was battling off waves of nausea, as well as mental images of her sister. Jessica had barely made it through the day, that Elizabeth had know. She'd dealt with many teachers that wanted to know what was going on, concerned students, as well as hostile students that had sided with Will. It hadn't been a good day for Jessica.  
  
Sighing, she quickly scribbled the equation down in her calc notebook. Shoving thoughts to the far side of her mind, Elizabeth went through the steps of the problem, trying to decide what x/y equaled. So far, she hadn't had any luck.  
  
This was useless. She didn't have the patience at the time to work on her homework. She could scribble it out during homeroom, if she had too. Getting up, Elizabeth felt another wave of nausea, and headed for the bathroom.  
  
Emerging ten minutes later, she flopped weakly on her bed. It wasn't turning into a very good day for her, either. She looked at her alarm clock. Ten till six, which meant the door slam she'd heard moments before had been Conner rushing off to work. She assumed that Mrs. Sandborn had already left for a dinner with some friends from college, which she'd been talking about all week. Megan, the only one home, would have just gotten back from the soccer game she'd been playing. So they were the only ones home.  
  
About ready to go downstairs, Elizabeth heard a faint knock on the door.  
  
"Can I come in?" Megan called softly from the other side.  
  
"Sure." Elizabeth said, sitting up. Megan walked in, almost hesitant. She took one look at Elizabeth and stopped.  
  
"I'm not bothering you, am I?" Megan asked, concerned.  
  
Elizabeth smiled. "Not at all. Why don't you sit down?"  
  
Megan nodded, sitting on the edge of her bed. "I heard about Jessica today. I'm really sorry that Will did that to her."  
  
Elizabeth nodded, "She's not doing the greatest." She confirmed grimly. "Jess is especially nervous about the trial. I just wish that this hadn't have happened."  
  
Megan stopped, and looked down. After a few silent moments, she pulled her head up, tears forming in her eyes. "It shouldn't have happened." She said quietly. "It's my fault that she had to go through it too."  
  
Elizabeth looked at Megan, confusion spreading on her face. "Megan, what are you talking about?"  
  
Megan looked down, a few tears running down her cheeks. "Because last year, Will raped me." 


	11. Assualt With a Deadly Weapon

Chapter Eleven  
  
Assault With A Deadly Weapon  
  
Megan smiled happily across the table to her date, Will Simmons. She took another bite of her fajitas, listening intently as Will talked about the football game that El Carro was playing against Big Mesa the next day.  
  
This is so perfect, Megan thought to herself. She'd never had a boyfriend before, yet Will Simmons was showing in interest in her! Will was everything that she'd want in a boyfriend… smart, fun to be around, caring… not to mention handsome, a football player, popular, and junior. It flattered her to think that he was interested in her, a freshmen!  
  
She wasn't even a cheerleader or very popular, in fact, she hadn't even thought Will had known who she was, until he'd caught up with her after a football game. She'd been helping the sports editor of the school newspaper cover the game, and after the editor had interviewed him, he'd stopped to talk to her. Afterwards, he'd asked her out, and here they were, eating dinner together.  
  
"So, Megan," Will asked, "Now that you know all about me, why don't you tell me about you?" he smiled a heartwarming grin, his blue-gray eyes bright.  
  
Megan returned the smile, telling him about her work on the newspaper, her family, and friends. She and Will settled into an easy pattern of conversation. After about half an hour, the waiter appeared, clearing their empty plates.  
  
"Would you and the lady care for some deserts?" the waiter addressed Will, who looked at Megan. She shook her head.  
  
"No thanks." Will said. "Just the check, please." After Will had paid, they got up, leaving just as the sun had began to set, and the spring air felt comfortable in the glow.  
  
"I know a perfect spot for watching the sunset." Will smiled, opening the door to his car for her. "Would you enjoy going there?"  
  
Megan nodded excitedly. "I'd love to go" she said. "It sounds like fun."  
  
Ten minutes later, Will parked at the entrance of a park in El Carro, stopping the engine, and opening Megan's door for her. Stepping out, Megan straightened her khaki skirt and white button down, and took Will's hand as he offered it to her.  
  
Walking the distance of a short trail, Will stopped on a little plateau area, a ring of pine trees surrounding it from behind. He was right. The view was incredible. Megan smiled, as he gestured for her to sit next to him on a flat rock. She did, and he lifted her hand, giving it a quick kiss.  
  
Looking up into her eyes, she felt him move closer, until their faces were just inches apart.  
  
Slowly, gently, he brought his lips to hers… it felt so sweet, so magic, so right. When he pulled back, Megan smiled happily. Her first kiss had been perfect.  
  
Then Will leaned back in, for a moment, holding back before kissing her again. Megan didn't resist, and for a few moments, she felt as if she was in heaven. That's when she felt Will's hands slid up her shirt, unhooking her bra. Megan pulled back, but Will held her firm. "Stop!" she said, firmly, trying to push him off her. He didn't budge, making her fall back, off the rock, and onto the ground. He was on top of her, pinning her to the ground.  
  
"No!" she screamed as loudly as she could, but Megan knew it was no use. No one could hear her out here, no one at all. In a matter of moments, Will had turned from her dream date to her horror date, as she realized he was going to rape her.  
  
Megan shut her eyes, finishing telling Elizabeth her story. She'd been so scared afterward, she'd felt like such a slut… she'd never told anybody. And up until then, she'd thought that she was over it, but over a year later, the pain was still fresh.  
  
Daring to open them again, she looked over at Elizabeth, tears flowing freely. "I'm sorry." She choked out.  
  
Wordlessly, Elizabeth leaned over, hugging her sobbing friend. "Megan, I know how hard that was for you to tell." She pulled herself back. "It's not your fault what happened to Jessica, and you know it."  
  
Megan nodded, wiping away some of her tears. "I guess I know… but the guilt's still there."  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "I know it is," she leaned over, touching Megan's shoulder. "And the one thing you could do to stop it is to take your story to court with Jess."  
  
Megan looked down. "I couldn't," she whispered. "I couldn't tell that many people."  
  
Elizabeth bit her lip. "You might hate me for saying this, and doing this, but then you can tell your mom and Conner. And if you don't, then I'll tell them for you. They need to know what's going on, Megan."  
  
Megan looked at her, tearful again. She could tell by the pained look in Elizabeth's eyes that she didn't want to do this, yet she was for her own good. Megan nodded. "I'll tell mom, if you'll tell Conner." She gave her a faint smile. "He's a lot different with you. If I told him, he'd freak, and go out and kill Will. At least he'll listen to you, and let you calm him down."  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "That's fair. I'll tell him, if you tell your mom. Okay?"  
  
"Okay," Megan nodded, getting up off Elizabeth's bed, "I'm going to lay down for awhile, and then I'd like to call your sister. Is that okay?"  
  
"Sure." Elizabeth said, grabbing a pen and a sheet of paper, and scribbling down Jessica's number. "Here you go. I'm sure she'll be home."  
  
Megan smiled, "Thanks," She said quietly, slipping out the door.  
  
Once she was out, Elizabeth just laid back on her bed, letting out a long sigh. Even though what Will did to Jessica was completely wrong, she could almost see the base for it. What she didn't understand was how he could take advantage of someone like Megan, who he barely knew. Elizabeth had a sinking feeling that raping her had been the motive of their date. It didn't make since but nothing made sense at this point.  
  
Jessica glanced around the dimly lit living room, listening to the sounds of thunder crashing in the black sky. She could hear the rain violently clanging against the house, and the lightning flashing in the sky. Unintentionally, she shivered. The whole scene was eerie, a horror movie appeal. Of course, she was also the only one home at the time. Her parents were in San Diego for a dinner with some of her father's clients, and wouldn't be home till the next morning.. At least Jeremy was going to come over in about an hour in a half. Ned and Alice had given him permission to spend the night, but he'd had to go over to his grandparents, with his family, first.  
  
The moment she heard a violent clap of thunder in the distance, and the lights flickered off. To Jessica's relief, they came back on moments later. The night was pitch black outside, and it wasn't even eight yet.  
  
Please get here soon, Jessica prayed, sending Jeremy a telepathic message. She knew the reason her parents had practically insisted someone be with her was because of the whole situation with Will that had unfolded within the last two weeks. What scared Jessica even more now, she wasn't Will's only victim. Megan Sandborn had also come forward with a horrible story of when Will had raped her the year before, and was going to help Jessica press charges. Melissa, as planned, had also come forward.  
  
Jessica sighed, looking back down at her French book. She was supposed to be writing an essay about France, as a year end assignment. It was hard to believe that they'd all be graduating in exactly a month. And you'll be turning eighteen in a month, she thought, feeling a tinge of excitement. By coincidence, her birthday had fallen on the day of graduation.  
  
Jessica closed her eyes, thinking ahead to graduation day. She'd waited four years for it, and she'd never imagine that things would be so crazy when it actually happened. Will's trial was the next day, on a Monday, and just thinking of that made her jittery. Jeremy had already promised her he was going to take her out to a special dinner that night, in honor of graduation, and her birthday. She knew he really wanted to get her mind off things, or at least for a little bit.  
  
Sighing, she opened her eyes again, and did her best to concentrate on her homework, which she knew she had to get done.  
  
Will silently parked his Blazer on the corner of Calico Drive and Vincent Avenue, figuring he was just over a block from Jessica's house. He reached to the back of the car, pulling out an oversized black sweatshirt, and a black sky mask. He pulled the sweatshirt over his head, and then the sky mask, adjusting it so he could see, hear, and breath. He smiled wickedly, leaning over to the passenger side, and grabbing the knife. He gripped the wooden handle tightly in his bare hand, admiring the sleek, sharp blade.  
  
Opening the door with his other hand, he slipped out into the stormy night. The thunder clapped loudly overhead, the rain immediately drenching him. He walked behind the house on the corner, cutting across backyards until he reached Jessica's. Carefully plotting his moves, he monitored the back of the house, realizing that she was in the living room.  
  
The time wasn't right yet, so Will staked out a spot in the bushes, beneath a kitchen window. He would first have to make sure that no one else was home before he carried through with his plot, to kill her, keep her quiet. Once he'd done so, he knew that Megan and Melissa's case wouldn't stick. The charges would be dropped, and even if they weren't, he knew he'd never be convicted. Even better, Will was planning to make it look like a suicide, leaving the knife at the crime scene. He chuckled to himself. He could imagine the headline that would result, "Victim of Rape Commits Suicide : Did It Really Happen?"  
  
Grinning evilly, Will settled back, waiting for his chance. It might take awhile, but he was good at waiting.  
  
Jessica finished her French homework, shutting her book with a loud bang. Only ten minutes had passed, and she heard the hall clock begin to chime, which meant it was eight. Jeremy had said he'd be there between nine thirty or ten, and she prayed that the time would go quickly. She felt nervous, listening to the storm that raged outside.  
  
She got up, walking to the kitchen, and pouring herself a cup of coffee. Mixing in some milk and sugar, she walked back to the living room, plopping down onto the sofa, relaxing in the soft cushions. Jessica set her coffee on the nightstand, reaching down to her backpack, and pulling out Rebecca, the book she was reading for English class. Settling down, she realized the oddity of it… Rebecca was a classic ghost story. Oh well, at least she'd be in the mood for it.  
  
After covering about a chapter, the lights flickered again, and then shut off. Even after a few minutes, they didn't come back on. Jessica sat up straight, getting up. She moved across the room, lighting a candle. Glancing about, looking at the room bathed in the soft glow. She sat down cautiously. Suddenly, she heard a low scratching sound from outside of the window, growing louder. Nearly screaming, she grabbed the phone. Okay, she was going to call Jeremy now and see if he could come a little earlier.  
  
Jeremy sighed, looking in the mirror before leaving the bathroom. This night had been a new form of living hell. Sure, he loved his grandparents, and didn't mind spending time with him. In fact, he usually enjoyed it. But this time his great grandma, who had Alzheimer's disease, was there, and he'd spent the last two hours trying to convince her that his name was Jeremy, not Michael.  
  
Besides, he was worried about Jessica. He knew she was home alone, and he couldn't help but feel worried about her. Jeremy knew that Will could pull some sort of stunt at anytime. He'd known that he'd pushed Jessica down the stairs at school a few days before, and that had really scared him.  
  
Letting out a deep breath, Jeremy plastered the fake smile that he'd been wearing all evening to his face. He was about to leave, when he felt his pager go off in his pocket. Fishing through his khakis, he grabbed it, checking the number. Seeing it was Jessica, he immediately walked out of the bathroom, to the phone, and dialed her number.  
  
He was glad that she picked up on the first ring. "Jess? Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm okay… but the storm's is raging over here. The power keeps going off." She stopped. "And there's this weird scratching noise I keep hearing. When are you going to be able to leave?"  
  
Jeremy checked his watch. "Well, I think that if I fake a stomachache I can leave right now."  
  
Jessica breathed a sigh of relief. "Would you?"  
  
"Yeah. Are you sure everything is okay?" she heard him ask, the concern in his voice obvious.  
  
"I'm fine…" Jessica jumped, hearing a loud bang outside. "What was that?"  
  
"What was what?"  
  
"Oh, nothing." Jessica said, hearing things go silent again. Or, at least as silent as it had been. She felt an uneasy feeling rise in her stomach, the jittery feeling increasing. "Just a tree." Jessica reasoned, not wanting to make him panic.  
  
"Good." He said, his voice relaxing. "Listen, it should take me about thirty minutes to get back to Sweet Valley, okay? I'm coming straight over."  
  
"Okay." Jessica said, walking in the kitchen, glad the lights had come back on. "Thanks."  
  
"No problem. I'll talk to you later, sweetie. I love you."  
  
Jessica was about to say that she loved him, when she heard the sound of glass shattering.  
  
"Jessica?" Jeremy's frantic voice cut in over the phone.  
  
That's when Jessica say a figure moving in the darkness. She screamed, and at the same moment, the lights went out, and the phone died.  
  
Jessica screamed again, grabbing the candle, still lit, which was sitting on the table. The glow reflected to reveal a figure dressed all in black. She tried to scream, yet it caught in her throat.  
  
The figure stepped forward, and Jessica saw a knife glittering in his left hand. His right hand moved up, pulling off the ski mask on his head.  
  
Will Simmons grinned evilly at her. "So, Jessica, we meet again." He stepped up, pressing the knife blade against her throat. "Unfortunately, this is going to be the last time you ever meet someone again."  
  
Jessica screamed, and in one quick motion, Will brought the knife from her throat, and stabbed her hard in the stomach.  
  
Jeremy was practically racing through the rain slick road towards Sweet Valley. He'd heard the shattering glass, Jessica's scream, all too well. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew that he'd better get there as fast as he could. Nearing a turn in the road, he was forced to slow down, under the conditions of the waterlogged streets.  
  
Nearing the Sweet Valley exit ramp, Jeremy prayed that she was all right. He'd do anything to make sure that she was. Speeding down, he was also thankful he was the only driver on the road that night. He heard a loud clap of thunder, reminding him of how bad the storm was.  
  
In the ten minutes it took to get from the highway to Calico Drive, he'd calmed his nerves slightly. Not much, he rephrased his thoughts as he turned into the Wakefield's driveway. In the ten seconds it took for him to get from his car to the door, the panic grew again.  
  
"Jessica!" He yelled, pounding on the door, knowing the doorbell wouldn't be working. "Jess, are you in there?"  
  
No answer. Jeremy hit it hard again, and nothing. Racing around the back, he remember the Wakefields usually left the backdoor unlocked. Oh God. One of the back kitchen windows was completely broken in. "Jessica!" He yelled again, opening the backdoor.  
  
He walked in, the room pitch black. Jeremy tried yelling her name several times, walking into the living room. At that moment, the lights went back on.  
  
That's when Jeremy saw it. A good part of the carpet was stained red. And Jessica's limp, bleeding body lay in the middle of it. 


	12. Holding it Together

Chapter Twelve  
  
Holding It Together  
  
Jeremy sighed, glancing down to his watch for the millionth time that evening. He was a wreck, and he wasn't even going to deny it. Seeing Jessica on the floor like that, bleeding, unconscious, no doubt was the worst thing he'd seen in his life. He knew that he'd never be able to shake that picture, either.  
  
She'd been in the emergency room for an hour, Jeremy figured, not knowing what to expect when the doctor finally gave him the news on her condition. Jessica had looked so bad when he'd seen her on the floor back at her house, and he'd known the paramedics had said that she'd lost a lot of blood.  
  
Even now, Jeremy could barely remember what he'd done in the moments that had followed his walking into her house. Vaguely, he remember checking her pulse and breathing, and then calling nine-one-one, and then getting in the ambulance with her. The most recent thing he'd remembered was calling Elizabeth, and that had been against his better judgment.  
  
Sighing, Jeremy looked at his watch again. Tell me already, he pleaded in his thoughts. At this  
  
point, what was killing him was not knowing. Every minute that ticked by made him more nervous, less of an idea of what to expect. The waiting had been so damn slow, he was about ready to go crazy.  
  
Saying a silent prayer for his girlfriend, his mind played back over the turmoil of the last few weeks. In his heart, he knew that it had been Will who'd done this to her, but Jeremy hadn't had the guts to say anything. He knew Jessica would confirm it if it was true.  
  
If she makes it, a horrible, taunting voice in his head reminded him. He'd been told to expect the worse, after Jessica had been stabbed so many times, and had lost so much blood. Jeremy tried to force the little voice out, unable to imagine life without Jessica. No doubt, it would be a life lived in hell for him.  
  
"Jeremy?" he looked up, seeing Elizabeth walking quickly towards him. She reached him quickly. "Any word on Jess?"  
  
He shook his head, knowing that calling her had been the right thing. Besides, if he'd spent another minute in the hospital, alone, he literally would have gone insane. "No, but it looked pretty bad." Seeing the crestfallen look on her face, he added, "It'd take awhile to stitch up."  
  
Elizabeth nodded, leaning down to give him a quick hug. Jeremy returned it, knowing that had been what he needed. He watched Elizabeth take the seat next to him, and spotted Conner walking in.  
  
Jeremy gave him the best of a smile that he could, and watched him sit next to Elizabeth, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. He realized how broken up Elizabeth must have been inside, after all, Jessica was her twin.  
  
That's when the doctor stepped out of the emergency room. "Is this the waiting party for Jessica Wakefield?" She was in her mid to late thirties, short with brown hair and brown eyes. She had a gentle, concerned expression on her face.  
  
Even at that, Jeremy felt his body tense up, not knowing what to expect. "It is. How's Jess?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking. It wasn't very effective. A quick glance at Elizabeth reassured him that he wasn't the only nervous one there.  
  
"Jessica's a lucky girl," the doctor started, "While she is cut up pretty badly, and lost a lot of blood, I believe that she's going to just fine."  
  
Jeremy let loose hi breath, not realizing that he'd been holding it. He felt relived, though. Thank God Jessica was going to be okay. That helped him out so much.  
  
"Are we going to be able to see her?" Elizabeth asked from his left. Jeremy focused his attention back on the doctor.  
  
She looked down at her clipboard. "Well, she's resting right now. Jessica woke up after awhile, but I told her to get some rest once she was in her room." The doctor extended my hand. "By the way, my name is Elise Prescott. And you are all?"  
  
Jeremy cleared his throat, processing words again. "Jeremy Aames, her boyfriend."  
  
"I'm Elizabeth, her sister." Elizabeth said, and gestured towards Conner. "And this is my boyfriend, Conner McDermott."  
  
Dr. Prescott nodded, shaking each of their hands. "Nice to meet you. Now, I'll allow you all to see her, but only one person at a time, okay?"  
  
Jeremy nodded, looking over to Elizabeth. "You go first." she said immediately. "I think that you'll need the confirmation she's okay." she smiled gently, and Jeremy couldn't help smiling back. Elizabeth was a nice person, and Jessica was lucky to have her as a sister.  
  
"Okay, then. Jessica is in room two fourteen. I'll take you all up there." Dr. Prescott offered, walking them to the stairs.  
  
Five minutes later, Jeremy walked into Jessica's hospital room, the light shining brightly. He looked over at Jessica's sleeping body. She looked pail and fragile, but it was a major improvement over when he'd found her over an hour earlier. What still made him nervous, was when Dr. Prescott had warned that she'd lost a lot of blood, and had needed a transfusion. Sure enough, blood dripped into her from an IV in her hand.  
  
Jeremy was about to sit down, when he saw Jessica begin to stir. "Jeremy?" Jessica asked, confused. She tried sitting up, but gasped in pain, leaning back.  
  
Jeremy looked at her, sitting down in a hospital chair. "It's me, sweetie, how are you doing?"  
  
Jessica smiled weakly. "Okay, I guess. They told me you found me."  
  
Jeremy nodded. And they'd told him that if he'd been five minutes later, she probably wouldn't have made it. "You gave me quite a scare."  
  
"Sorry." Jessica said, reaching for his hand, but stopped abruptly, looking down at the cast on her right arm. "Wait a minute. I just had that taken off, yesterday."  
  
Jeremy cringed. Yeah, he'd known about that, too. "You broke it again."  
  
Jessica sighed. "Dammit!" she shook her head, a few tears slipping from her eyes. "Why did he have to hurt me again?" she said, her voice shaky and tearful.  
  
Jeremy felt his heart thud sickly in his chest. Will had done this to her, he'd tried to kill her. The thought made him sick. He'd been right. Will had done this to her.  
  
  
  
Conner stumbled tiredly into his house just as the clock began to strike midnight. Elizabeth looked sleepily to him, where he had his arm around her. "Thanks for going with me this evening."  
  
Conner nodded. "It's okay. It's too bad that this had to happen to her."  
  
"Yeah. Poor Jeremy." Elizabeth shivered. "I can't imagine what I would have done if I'd been in his position."  
  
Conner closed his eyes, trying to imagine what he would have done if he'd found Elizabeth bleeding and unconscious on the floor. The thought just made him sick. "I know."  
  
"Should we tell Megan what happened?"  
  
"Probably. I don't want her to hear a second hand account." Conner sighed. His poor sister. He scarcely believed it when Elizabeth had told him Will had raped Megan. Not once had he suspected it. "She still blames herself, you know."  
  
Elizabeth nodded, stepping into her closet and emerging a moment later in flannel pants and a tee shirt. Conner had stripped down to his boxers and a tee shirt. Any more, they usually just slept together in her room. Not doing anything, just literally sleeping together. "I wish none of this hadn't happened." Elizabeth said, slipping into bed. "Poor mom and dad. I don't want to be the one that gets the voice mail I left on dad's cell phone."  
  
Conner nodded, turning off the lights. He knew how hard it had been for her to call her dad with the news. Considering that they weren't even speaking to her, he hoped that her dad wouldn't delete the message when he heard it. "I wouldn't either. Jess seems to be doing pretty good."  
  
Elizabeth nodded, leaning hard against her fluffy pillow. "I know. I'm glad, too. When Jeremy called, you saw how much I panicked."  
  
Conner couldn't help laughing. "Sorry, Liz, I know how much Jessica means to you."  
  
Elizabeth propped herself up on one elbow. "It's okay. I just wish this hadn't happened. It's tearing Jessica up emotionally, and physically."  
  
"How's Jeremy doing?" I think that the guy nearly turned mute when Dr. Prescott said that Jessica would have to have surgery." Conner said, remember how distant he'd been all night. It was kind of surprising. The times he'd talked to the guy, he'd always liked him, thought he was cool, especially for a football player.  
  
"I guess as well as can be expected." Elizabeth said, sighing slightly. "I feel sorry for him, finding her like that. They really love each other, you know. Besides, I'd be doing a lot worse then him if I'd found Jessica."  
  
Conner nodded sleepily. "I know what you mean. If I'd found you…" he trailed off.  
  
"Don't even think out it, McDermott!" Elizabeth commanded firmly. "I know what you're going to say, and you don't even need to think about it."  
  
Conner couldn't help but laugh at her tone. Yet, he couldn't even imagine what Jeremy was going through. He didn't even want to think about Elizabeth being in Jessica's position. It would probably kill him. He looked over at her, the sweet, slight smile on her face. Even through this, through everything, she'd remained in high spirits.  
  
After a few moments of silence from her, Conner rolled over, looking at her sleeping form. God, he loved her so much. He looked down to her belly, now six months pregnant, and remembered how much had happened in the last few months. Thankfully, everything was going okay, and the doctor had said that it was likely that the twins would be born full term, with no complications, which was a relief after they'd been told that Elizabeth had needed to take it easy for the next few months.  
  
Conner leaned back against his pillow, thinking of how things were working out, at least for them. He wouldn't deny that she'd been sick even more frequent, and worse then before. Elizabeth had done her best, keeping up with her school work, trying to go whenever she could, but even at that, she probably missed at least one day a week. It had been hard, but most of the teachers had been understanding. Looking back, it hadn't been as bad as he'd thought it would be in the beginning, and he was actually happy with having kids with her. Even though it was earlier then he would have liked, it wasn't such a bad thing.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
ONE MONTH LATER…..  
  
Jessica looked at herself one last time in the mirror, checking her appearance. After all, she only had one high school graduation, and despite her crappy mood, she wanted to look her best. She'd dressed conservatively, in a long black skirt and a white twinset. She'd tied her hair up in a French braid, and she knew that she looked her best.  
  
Applying a small amount of lip gloss, Jessica finished, and forced a smile onto her face. She knew that the moment she got downstairs her mother would be flashing photo after photo, just like she always did on the twins' birthdays. It would be different this year, no Elizabeth to celebrate with, and the weight of the trial hanging overhead.  
  
Jessica stepped back, and was about to walk over to the door, when it swung open, and Jeremy popped in, a bright smile on his face, his brown eyes twinkling.  
  
"Good morning, sweetie." he said, reaching her and giving her a kiss. Jessica smiled as he pulled back, looking him over. He looked perfect in a pair of khakis and a blue plaid button down shirt, and she could smell the soft sent of his aftershave. She figured that he'd been over for at least twenty minutes, hanging downstairs and talking to her parents. He had a sweet smile on his face, as he gave her another kiss. "Happy birthday."  
  
"Thanks." she said, feeling happy for the first time all day. Jeremy always had that effect over her mood. No matter what, she knew that he'd be there for her. He'd proved that in the last month, as she'd been in the hospital for quite a time. She'd had two separate operations, both to help repair her damaged tissue, and he'd been supportive the entire time, from days when she was happy and in good spirits, to the horrible days that she'd felt sick and was in pain.  
  
Jeremy smiled, taking her hand in his, and leading her over to her bed. He sat down, and pulled her into his lap. Jessica watched him pull something out of his pocket, unable to tell what it was.  
  
"I wanted to get you something special," he started slowly, looking deeply into her eyes. Jessica was concentrating on his face, and didn't noticed he'd open the little box and took something out of it. Jessica felt him lift her hand and slid a ring onto it.  
  
She looked down at it in breathless astonishment. Then she looked back up at Jeremy, unable to speak. "It's a promise ring," he said simply, "It's my promise to you that I'll always love you no matter what."  
  
Jessica looked at the genuine expression on his face, and then down to the ring, a simple gold band with an emerald set into it. She felt tears of happiness, come to her eyes. "It's beautiful." she said. "Thanks."  
  
Jeremy pulled her closer to him, and gently kissed her, and then deepened the kiss. Jessica didn't resist, and wrapped her arms around his neck, realizing that it was the first time they'd really kissed in months. And for a moment, she had no thoughts of Will, or the trial, or anything but Jeremy.  
  
"Wow, I never realized the gym was this tiny!" Elizabeth said to Conner, having to yell over the din. The Sweet Valley High gym was packed full with the senior class, all listening to find there place in line. Conner and Elizabeth had hung back, trying to let some of their classmates get into place first.  
  
"I know!" Conner exclaimed, looking back at her, admiring how beautiful she looked in her simple black dress. She was seven months pregnant now, though it looked as if she was farther along. "Once you pack a few hundred students in here, it doesn't seem so big anymore!"  
  
Elizabeth laughed, and was about to reply when she felt some one tap on her shoulder. She spun around, to see her sister standing behind her. "Hey Jess!" she smiled, hugging her. Jessica smiled back, a genuine smile on her face for the first time in… well, a long time.  
  
"Happy birthday, sis!" Jessica said, grinning. "I can't believe we're eighteen now!"  
  
Elizabeth laughed again, looking her sister over. "Well, I can't believe we're done with high school!" Jessica smiled back, and Elizabeth noticed she was looking better then she had in quite awhile. Maybe, after the trial, she could finally move on with life, and the whole ordeal would be a thing of the past.  
  
"Me neither! I mean, it never seemed like it was actually going to end, but it's here now." Jessica smiled. "Even with Jeremy's graduation last night, I never thought today would get here!" Big Mesa had held their graduation the night before, and of course, Jessica had attended. She knew Jeremy was sitting out in the auditorium with her parents right now, waiting for the ceremony to start.  
  
"He's here, right?" Elizabeth asked.  
  
"Of course," Jessica said. "We're going to be glued together for the next few days, with the trial and…" she stopped abruptly, and Elizabeth knew that wasn't a high point for her.  
  
She was about to say something when she felt Conner wrap his arms around her. "Sweetie, I've gotta go now, okay? They just called the M section, so I've gotta go. I'll meet up with you after, okay?" Conner gave her a quick kiss, and was off.  
  
"He's such a sweetheart." Jessica observed, watching Conner's backside disappear unto the crowd. She looked at Elizabeth expectantly.  
  
Immediately, Elizabeth felt her cheeks flush. "Okay, I guess he is, but you know he hasn't always been. It took a lot of time and effort to make him that way. But he loves me, and I love him." She smiled. "Besides, what would you call Jeremy?"  
  
"A sweetheart." Jessica's eyes lit up. "Speaking up sweethearts, look what he got me for my birthday." she lifted her hand to show Elizabeth her promise ring. "A promise ring," she said simply, smiling.  
  
Elizabeth hugged her sister excitably. "That's great, Jess!" she smiled, looking down at her own promise ring. "You two belong together."  
  
Jessica smiled again, the most times Elizabeth had seen her smile consecutively in months. "He's taking me out for lunch after graduation. Are you and Conner doing anything special?"  
  
"We're going to look for apartments near campus." After the ceremony, she and Conner were going to grab a quick lunch and drive down to SVU, and look for apartments that were near campus. Both had been excepted, and they were already enrolled for the fall semester. Elizabeth had decided to go ahead and take classes the first semester, but she'd picked a very light load, because she'd be caring for the twins.  
  
"W! People with a last name that starts with W!" Mr. Collins yelled across the room. Jessica smiled, looking at her sister.  
  
"Come on, we've gotta go. Don't want to be late for graduation!" Jessica smiled, skipping off, with her sister following close behind.  
  
It was late Sunday evening when Elizabeth and Conner stumbled back into his house. They'd left right after graduation, and after quickly changing and eating, they'd set out looking for apartments. It had been a long day, but it was worth it, because they'd found a great apartment, near campus, that was within their budget.  
  
The apartment was located in a medium sized building, one of forty in the complex. It had two bedrooms, a small living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It fit their needs perfectly, and by chance, it was in the same building as Steven and Billie's apartment. They'd run into them while they'd gone through the building, and Elizabeth was relived that Steven had accepted her pregnancy by now. She was pretty sure Billie had influenced that.  
  
"Ready for bed?" Conner asked her, as she dragged sleepily behind him. Elizabeth nodded, so tired all she really wanted to do was lie down and go to sleep. She'd started feeling sick near the end, and she was really feeling it now.  
  
"Yeah," she said, once they were in her room, "I'm going to bed now, if you don't mind. I want some energy for Jess and Megan's trial tomorrow." Conner hadn't wanted her to go to the trial at all, thinking that it would inflict too much stress on her, but she'd been persistent, and he'd finally given in. She knew how to be stubborn when she needed to be.  
  
After changing quickly, Elizabeth shut off the lights, and lay down in bed. Conner, who hadn't felt nearly as tired, had opted to go and try to talk to Megan for awhile, about what was going on and all.  
  
Leaning her head against the pillow, Elizabeth decided that it had been a good day. Now she prayed that tomorrow would also have a good outcome. 


	13. The Trial

Chapter Thirteen  
  
The Trial  
  
On Monday morning, Jeremy woke up, disorientated, looked around the room in confusion. Oh, wait. Sitting up, he remember that he'd crashed at Jessica's the night before. After graduation, he'd taken her out to lunch, and then she'd invited Melissa over, and they'd all swam in the Wakefield's pool, and then eaten dinner. He'd hung around until almost two, then just called his mom saying that he was going to stay there for the night.  
  
He pulled himself off Jessica's futon, and looked over to her, in her bed, where she was still sound asleep. Jeremy looked at her for a moment, admiring how sweet she looked when she was asleep. Her soft blonde hair flowed across her pillow, and she was wrapped up in her covers, despite the heat of the night before. "Jess," he said, sitting down on the edge of her bed. He shook her shoulder, gently yet firmly. "Jess, sweetie, wake up."  
  
Jeremy watched her open her eyes sleepily, and start to sit up. "Good morning," she mumbled, pushing back her covers. Apparently, she must have been restless during the night, because he tank top was pushed up, showing her stomach.  
  
Seeing the scars left over from Will's attack on her made Jeremy nearly feel sick. There were many of them, long, dark, angry red slashes. The doctor had said that they would fad over time, but that was a long way away. Swallowing, he smiled at his girlfriend. "Good morning, Jess."  
  
Jessica nodded, sitting up and straightening her shirt. Her mouth was set in a firm line. "The trial's today," she said nervously, looking him dead in the eye. On instinct, Jeremy firmly grasped both of her hands.  
  
"It's going to be okay, Jess." he hugged her. "Really. Will is going to get what he deserves." He looked at her, yet her blue green eyes looked confused and frightened.  
  
"I hope so," she said quietly, slipping out of his grasp. She stood up, walking to the door. "Come on. I don't want to think about it yet, okay? Let's go eat some breakfast. I'm sure mom's fixing something."  
  
Jeremy nodded soberly, saying a silent prayer as he left the room. If the trial didn't go well, and Will didn't get convicted, he had a good feeling that life for Jessica was going to be a new form of living hell.  
  
  
  
From the moment that Elizabeth woke up on Monday morning, she knew that her day was already on it's way down the toilet. Her only hope was that Jessica's day wouldn't turn out the same. After spending a good fifteen minutes puking in the bathroom, and once Elizabeth felt well enough to start the day, she showered and changed her clothes. The trail was set for eleven, which, glancing at the clock, gave them just over two and a half hours.  
  
Braiding her hair neatly, she saw the door to her room swing open, and Conner walked in, looking at her with concern. "Are you okay?" he asked, "I heard you in the bathroom, and it sounded like you were sick."  
  
Elizabeth gave him a weak smile, trying to mask how she felt. She knew he already had a lot on his mind with Megan, and didn't want to add to it. "I'm fine now," she said firmly, turning to face him. "No big deal."  
  
She immediately felt bad for saying so, because she felt worse then she had in months, but she didn't want him to be concerned. Knowing that he might make her stay home was one thing, and lying to him was another, but Elizabeth felt she had to go to the trial, for Jessica and Megan's sake, and even for Melissa's. They'd actually gotten to know each other pretty well, but they'd probably never be as good of friends as Melissa was with her sister.  
  
Conner nodded, and Elizabeth caught the spark of distrust in his green eyes, but that wasn't the point. She had a feeling that he saw right through her act, but hadn't said anything, because he knew that that was her thing, and that she didn't want him in it. "Okay," he said finally, "Do you want to go downstairs and get some breakfast?"  
  
"Sounds good to me." Elizabeth responded, even though the thought of food made her nauseas.  
  
Conner smiled, giving her a quick kiss on her forehead. "Okay, that sounds good to me."  
  
Elizabeth gave him a genuine smile, hoping that the day would actually turn into something good.  
  
  
  
Melissa sighed, looking out across the courthouse lawn. She'd never been this nervous in her life, as the trial would be starting in just half an hour. She looked around for a familiar face, yet found no one. Her mother and father, stiff and formal in all honesty, had gone off on their own, probably talking to the member of the press. Aren't they in for a shock, Melissa thought, when they found out that I had an abortion when I was fifteen? She closed her eyes and sighed, not even wanting to imagine what they were going to do to her.  
  
"Based on the look on your face, your just as nervous as I am." a voice said ascetically from next to her. She opened her eyes, to see Jessica standing in front of her, her mouth set in a firm line, her skin pale. She looked scared and nervous.  
  
Melissa hugged her friend, knowing that Jessica's scars ran every bit as deep as hers. "Have you seen Megan?" she asked, changing the subject. Melissa didn't know her very well, but she knew that Jessica had grown to be somewhat of her friend in the last few weeks.  
  
"Yeah, she's with Liz, Conner, and Mrs. Sandborn over there," she pointed vaguely. "She said she'll be over here in a few minutes."  
  
"Oh," Melissa said, looking around. "Where are your parents?"  
  
"They're going to go inside in a moment. Dad has to leave as soon as it's over, though, because of work." she frowned. "But that means mom invited Megan, Mrs. Sandborn, Liz and Conner over after the trial. You and your parents, too, if you want." Jessica smiled sincerely.  
  
"Count me in, but not mom and dad, considering when they found out they're going to probably disown me." she said miserably. "It won't matter whether we win our lose. I think that I'm doomed."  
  
"Don't even say it." Jessica commanded. "But seriously, everything will blow over. Mom even said that you can stay over tonight, if you just need to get away. Jeremy will probably be there until late, though."  
  
Melissa nodded, grateful of the offer. "Thanks. I don't mind Jeremy in the slightest. You're lucky to have him, you know."  
  
"Yeah, I am. He's over there with Billie and Steven." Jessica pointed in the direction of her brother, his girlfriend, and her boyfriend. "Come on. Let's go catch up with Megan, and get on inside." She looked at Melissa, who nodded in approval.  
  
Ten minutes later, Melissa, Jessica, and Megan, were all sitting in the courtroom, waiting for the trial to begin. Sitting with them on the bench, the lawyer that was defending them, Justine Allen, who was Ned Wakefield's college. Jessica had met with Justine before, and she seemed like a sweet, caring person. She'd smiled at the girls the moment she'd seen them, and carefully explained the process they'd be going through that afternoon.  
  
Justine looked fairly confident that day, her brown hair neatly combed, and tucked behind her ears. She even dressed confident, Jessica thought, looking over her fitted tan suit. She looked nervously around, seeing Will sitting across the aisle with his lawyer sent made her feel increasingly nervous. Biting her lip, she turned around, to where Jeremy was sitting with her family. She quickly caught his eye, and he smiled at her. She saw her sister, as well as Conner and his mom, surprised to see them sitting just one row behind her family. She knew that her sister and her father were still at odds.  
  
Jessica sighed, looking back and forth from Megan to Melissa, who were sitting on either side of her. Megan was looking dead forward, nervously clasping her hands together. Melissa had her eyes closed, and she was silently mouthing something.  
  
"Order in the court! The honorable Judge Peterson presiding." Jessica focused her attention the front of the room, where the judge, a short lady who was probably in her fifties, walked gravely up to the stand. That was it. From here on, all bets were off. Neither she or Will would be calling the shots, and only one of them would walk away the winner.  
  
Letting loose an inaudible sigh, Megan looked up to the front of the courtroom, watching Jessica deliver her testimony. Just looking at her, Megan could tell how nervous she was, remembering how shaky her own voice had when she'd come shared the story of her rape. Now, the defense attorney, Pete Rousbaum, was shooting questions at Jessica. Megan knew that she'd be next, and that Mr. Rousbaum wasn't going to spare anything, as Justine did. He'd go for the throat, and she could tell from the way Jessica hesitantly answered each and every question, her voice becoming unnerved.  
  
Megan shoved the thoughts out of her head, focusing her attention on his questions, in preparation for her questioning. She knew that he'd probably deliver some of the same questions to her, so she wanted to be ready.  
  
Melissa had to fight to hold back the shock that she felt as Will's attorney tore into Jessica. He was out for blood, that was perfectly obvious. Looking at him made her shiver, his black hair, his beady little eyes, the Armani suit, the cocky attitude. Mr. Rousbaum obviously was going to be as vicious as he could with his attack.  
  
"So, Miss Wakefield," he drawled, "You say you dated Mr. Simmons prior to the rape." his spit the last word out sarcastically. "How long did you date?"  
  
Jessica bit her lip. "For about two or three weeks."  
  
"Yes, you did." Mr. Rousbaum smiled and evil smile. "And then Will broke up with you?"  
  
"Yes, that is correct." Jessica said confidently.  
  
"Therefore you admit that you are making up the charges against my client over jealously that he dumped you."  
  
"Objection!" Justine stood up, looking at the other attorney, looking rancid.  
  
"You may proceed." Judge Peterson looked down on them.  
  
"My client is not pressing phony charges against Mr. Simmons. Their previously dating does not affect the fact that he raped her. Neither does the fact that he is the one that broke up with her."  
  
"Yes, Ms. Allen. Mr. Rousbaum, continue. That was strictly uncalled for." The Judge settled back, pushing her glasses up on her nose.  
  
"Fine then." Mr. Rousbaum focused his attention back to Jessica, who looked pale. "I only have one more question, Ms. Wakefield." he gave her a crushing smile. "Were you sexually active before the time that you say my client attacked you?"  
  
Jessica's face turned white, and Melissa could tell that her hands were shaking. She closed her eyes, then opened them quickly. "I… um… my…" she stuttered.  
  
"Just answer the question, Miss Wakefield." Mr. Rousbaum said. "It's not that difficult, the answer is yes or no."  
  
"Yes." she said, quietly, realizing what he was trying to do. He was trying to make it appear to the jury that she was some sort of a slut. She looked up, to see the defense attorney smiling. From the bench, Will also wore a satisfied smile.  
  
"Thank you. I'm done questioning, your Honor." He looked at the judge, the fake smile plastered on his face. Jessica stood, and walked back to her seat. She looked at the jury, and none of them had dared to look at her face.  
  
  
  
Jessica watched the stone faced jury member had Judge Peterson a small sheet of white paper, and then walk back to his seat. The verdict. Only a few more moments, and she would know what Will's fate would be. The sound of the judge unfolding the note was impossibly loud.  
  
She studied it solemnly, and the faced the court. Her face was rock hard, and she scanned the room, looking at the people. Jessica closed her eyes, and about a minute dragged by. She heard the judge clear her throat, and she dared to look up.  
  
"The jury finds the defendant, Will Simmons, guilty on the charges of abuse, assault, two counts of rape, and attempted murder." she slammed her gravel down. "Sentencing is set for Tuesday the twenty second of June. Court is dismissed."  
  
Jessica looked up in disbelief. They won. They'd really won the case. Will would be going to jail for what he'd done to them. She watched two policeman walk up to him, and handcuff him, then proceeded to lead him out of the court room. Jessica felt herself erupt in tears. Tears of happiness, tears of relief, tears knowing that the living hell was over. She looked over to see Melissa doing the same.  
  
"We did it." Melissa whispered, reading her thoughts. "We really and truly did it. Will is going to jail. He's going to pay for doing this to us." then she leaned forward, and hugged her best friend tightly.  
  
Melissa walked out of the court room directly ahead of Jessica and Jeremy, who were walking out, Jeremy having an arm around her. She wiped away her tears, hoping to see her parents in the mess. She looked around, seeing her friends, she saw Elizabeth and Conner, and she saw they Wakefields, along with Billie, congratulating Jessica, all getting a chance to hug her.  
  
"Melissa Candice Fox!" she heard her mother's shrill voice ring out, loud over the buzz of the room. Melissa turned around, only to see her mother hovering over her.  
  
"How dare you!" Mrs. Fox yelled over the din. "You little liar, you little slut! No wonder I never trusted you in the first place! The Fox family has a reputation to uphold, and you're ruining it! If you can't even behave properly, consider yourself out! You no longer live at our home. Come by, pack up your things, and leave. We don't want to see you again!"  
  
Melissa felt her eyes fill with tears. "Mom, please…."  
  
"I'm not your mother." Mrs. Fox looked at her coolly. "Just get out of our lives. We don't want you."  
  
Melissa broke down, crying, realizing her mother no longer cared. She never did, she thought in her head. That's when she realized someone was standing behind her.  
  
"Let me tell you something," Alice Wakefield said firmly. "Melissa is one of the kindest, most caring girls that Jessica has ever been friends with. The way you treat her is indecent to any human on this earth. You are not above her, whether you think you are or not. And it's your own problem that you don't care about her, because I know that our family does, and she can stay with us for as long as she wants."  
  
Mrs. Fox looked at Alice, her eyes flashing. "How dare you call me a bad mother!"  
  
"You know what? I just called you one." Mrs. Wakefield looked down at Melissa with caring eyes. "Come on, let's get out of here."  
  
Speechless, Melissa followed her, ignoring the stares of people around them. She realized that she'd spoken the truth. The Wakefields did care about her, and they were willing to let her live with them. And that was the first time in her life someone had really cared about her.  
  
About an hour later, Elizabeth looked around the familiar kitchen, watching her mom finish fixing a late lunch. Her dad, if you could still call him that, had had to go back into work that day, because he'd missed a few hours, which also meant he'd have to stay late. Alice had taken the opportunity to invite Megan, Mrs. Sandborn, Conner and herself over for lunch after the trial. Of course, Billie, Steven, and Jessica were there, as well as Jeremy and Melissa.  
  
After eating, she knew that Jessica and Melissa were going over to her house to get Melissa's things. Elizabeth didn't know the whole story, but she did know for a fact the Melissa would be staying there for awhile, and was under the impression the move might be permanent. Obviously, she didn't want to talk about it, so Elizabeth wasn't going to say anything.  
  
"Okay, lunch is served!" Mrs. Wakefield called cheerfully, holding a glass dish holding Chinese chicken, an obvious attempt to lift Jessica's spirits. Elizabeth knew her sister's favorite food, and almost laughed when Jeremy sat down another dish on the table. Cold rice and vegetables, one of her favorites. Her mom was trying to bait both of them. Elizabeth smiled, watching Jeremy sit down next to her, next to Jessica. Melissa was sitting on Jessica's other side. Elizabeth felt Conner touch her hand as he slid into the seat next to her. He and Jeremy had been enlisted as her mom's helpers.  
  
"I'm glad that you all came." Mrs. Wakefield said, plopping down in the first available seat, which was next to Conner. "And I'm also glad things worked out for you all at the trial today." she said, glancing around the table, her eyes falling on Jessica, Melissa and Megan.  
  
Jessica looked up from her plate, offering her mom a weak smile. Elizabeth knew that Jessica was still getting over everything that had happened, and it would still be awhile before she got over everything emotionally.  
  
Mrs. Sandborn smiled, passing a plate of mashed potatoes to Megan. "It's wonderful, Alice. You don't know how much we appreciate you having us over this afternoon."  
  
"It's no problem," Alice said warmly, taking a bite of her salad. She chewed quickly. "So, kids, are you glad that your done with high school now?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm just glad it's over." Jessica started, "I think that I'm ready for college, now."  
  
"Me too." Jeremy added in. "I'm looking forward to it, SVU is a great school." Both Jessica and Jeremy were going to be going to SVU, same for Elizabeth and Conner. Actually, Jeremy had received a football scholarship to go there, and he and Jessica had even talked about sharing an apartment.  
  
"Well, I know that I'm excited about college," Elizabeth said, trying to sound enthusiastic, but she wasn't sure if the effort help. She was hit by another wave of nausea, but she did her best to keep a smile on her face. She's been miserably sick all day, and wasn't really in the mood to deal with all the people there.  
  
Conner nodded. "So am I." He shot Elizabeth a quick glance from the corner of his eye, as if to ask her if she was okay. He must have picked up on her frown of discomfort. Elizabeth ignored it, but thought of what college would be like for them. Thankfully, Conner had pulled up his grades, and he had been accepted into SVU. Also, Elizabeth had been lucky that she'd received a partial scholarship to SVU, which would help greatly with her tuition.  
  
College would probably be difficult, trying to juggle classes, caring for the twins, as well as working. Even though it would be difficult, Elizabeth was positive that they would be able to make it. Whatever happened, she knew that they would have each other.  
  
"What about you, Melissa?" Mrs. Wakefield asked, smiling. "Are you looking forward to going to SVU?"  
  
Melissa had also received a scholarship, but hers was a full scholarship, and Elizabeth knew that she'd worked hard for it. From what Jessica had told her, Melissa had extremely high grades all through high school.  
  
"Yeah, I think that it's going to an interesting experience." She smiled, slightly. "Meeting people with the same interests as me, living away from home, choosing my classes... I think I'm really going to like it." Melissa said, taking a bite of mashed potatoes.  
  
  
  
It was late afternoon when everyone slowly started to leave the Wakefield's house, and shortly after, Melissa had gone with Jessica and Jeremy over to her house to get some of her things. Her mother or father hadn't been there, all that they'd done was left a note saying that she should get her things, and leave. That was all, and Melissa knew how deeply set their anger was.  
  
Once they'd gotten back to the house, they'd set up a spare bed in Jessica's room, since both girls had agreed that they'd wanted to share her room. Now, after she'd unpacked, she and Jessica were sitting downstairs at the kitchen table, eating sandwiches. Jeremy had left shortly before, because his parents had wanted him to come home. Mrs. Wakefield was in her husband's office, making phone calls, and Melissa had a good feeling that she was trying to reach her parents.  
  
They'd probably been sitting there ten minutes, Melissa reasoned, in silence, neither one knowing what to say. She could tell from the look on Jessica's face that she wasn't quite sure what to say, so had kept silent. "You know," Melissa said quietly, and slowly, breaking the silence, "You don't know how much I appreciate your parents agreeing to let me stay here."  
  
Jessica swallowed, a partial smile making it's way on her face. "It's not a problem. We love having you here." she said, yet her voice sounded distracted, distant.  
  
Melissa bit her lip, looking at her friend in concern. Obviously, she'd been wrong thinking that Jessica didn't know what to say. It seemed more if she had something heavy on her mind, another issue she was trying to work out. "What's up, Jess?" Melissa said in response, hoping that she'd open up.  
  
"Well," Jessica said softly, "Do you think that people are going to blame us for Will? That some people think that we're lying, and that he was convicted unjustly?"  
  
Melissa felt a lump in her throat. Now that she mentioned it, Melissa knew that her answer was yes. They would have to deal with people that believed in Will's lies, and that was the price that they'd pay for justice being served. "Don't worry about it," she said finally. "We know the truth, and that's what matters, and that Will is going to be behind bars for a long time."  
  
Jessica nodded slowly, as if she was processing the information. "I guess you're right." biting her lip, she looked up again, "But going out of there, I could practically feel it, the tension of the verdict. There were a lot of people that weren't happy that it went in our favor. Like we'd done something wrong by pressing charges."  
  
Now Melissa understood what she was saying. She'd felt it, and heard it even. The words spoken in muted tones, stopping as she passed by. The people staring at them, as if they were summing them up on their appearance. The football players, muttering slut under their breath, in a biting tone. The reporters, going after them like dogs. While the trial may be over, the rumors, the gossip, the opinions, they were all yet to come.  
  
  
  
Elizabeth felt another wave of nausea hit her, and closed her eyes tightly, hoping that it would go away. No use. As every other time she'd felt sick that night, it stayed, and grew increasingly worse. She slowly got off her bed, and walked into the bathroom, to throw up again.  
  
Even though she didn't want to admit it, she did worry that something was wrong. She hadn't been very sick at all the last week or so, and she'd never felt as sick as she did that night, or at least she didn't think she had. Starting to stand up, she saw Conner standing in the doorframe, looking down at her with concerned eyes. "Hi." she said shakily, standing up unsteadily, feeling another wave of nausea hit her.  
  
"I really don't think that you're doing okay, Liz," he said, beginning his tirade for the fifth time that night. Although, this time, the worried look had been etched deeper, and she knew that he thought something was wrong. "I can't ever remember you being this sick."  
  
"Really," she said weakly, "I'm okay." Immediately, she regretted it, feeling the nausea increase, and she kneeled down again. After she was done throwing up, she felt Conner's hand on her arm, helping her stand again.  
  
"Fine." she said, her voice shaking weakly.  
  
"No," Conner said firmly, "You're not, and you've gotta quit denying it, Liz. Something's wrong, and you know it, but you can't bring yourself to admit it." he looked at her, his green eyes filled with concern. "You know you could be going into labor, anything."  
  
"No." Elizabeth insisted. "I'm only seven months along. There is no way that I could be in labor this early." she broke from his grasp, as if to prove her point. That's when she felt it, a sharp, intense pain, like it had been that night a few months earlier, the night she'd ended up in the hospital. Elizabeth doubled over, the pain getting worse. She felt Conner grab her arms.  
  
"Liz!" he exclaimed, "Elizabeth!"  
  
Elizabeth managed to straighten up, yet the pain in her stomach was just as bad as before, and she was thankful Conner was still supporting her. "Something's… wrong." she choked.  
  
"Do you need to go to the hospital?"  
  
Elizabeth hurt so bad that she couldn't say the words. Instead, all she could do was weakly nod, and pray that everything would be okay. 


	14. New Beginnings

Chapter Fourteen  
  
New Beginnings  
  
For the millionth time, Conner checked his watch. It was just after three in the morning, which meant he and Elizabeth had been at the hospital since about nine, and he had no clue what was going on, now.  
  
Once they'd arrived, it had been confirmed that Elizabeth was in labor. That was six hours ago, and a lot had changed since then. He didn't know exactly what was happening, but Conner did know that they'd booted him because she was having problems. That had been about thirty minutes ago, and Conner was becoming increasingly worried.  
  
What had also complicated the situation, was that he couldn't get a hold of anyone. His mom and Megan had been gone when he'd taken Elizabeth in, and he still couldn't reach them. He'd also been trying to reach Elizabeth's family, but no one was picking the phone up.  
  
Sighing, Conner resorted to checking his watch again. Only a minute had passed. God, he was so worried about Elizabeth. What scared him most was not knowing what was going on with her, and with their children.  
  
Standing up again, Conner walked back over to the payphone, hoping that he'd be able to reach his mom this time. He could only imagine how their answering machine would sound. There were eight or nine messages on it, all from him, each more worried then the last. Digging through his pocket for some change, he stuck a quarter and a dime in the slot.  
  
One ring… two… three… Conner shifted back and forth, hoping that his mom would pick up the phone. After the fifth ring, he heard it click.  
  
"Hello?" Mrs. Sandborn's weary voice answered. From the sound of it, Conner was pretty sure that she'd been asleep.  
  
"Mom?" Conner said anxiously.  
  
"Conner?" she replied, obviously confused. "Why are you calling? Aren't you upstairs in your room?"  
  
"No, I'm at the hospital." he said quickly, figuring his mom hadn't thought to check on him as well as Elizabeth. "Liz went into labor."  
  
"What!" his mom exclaimed, her voice disbelieving. "Oh my… I thought that you two were upstairs in your room. How's she doing?"  
  
Conner sighed. "I have no clue. She was having problems earlier, and they kicked me out. That was over half an hour ago, and I don't know what's going on, now."  
  
"Do you want me to come down?" she asked immediately.  
  
Conner felt relieved as she said so, he wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. "Sure, that would be fine. I'll see you soon, okay?"  
  
"Have you reached her parents…" her voice faded out to Conner as he saw the doctor that had been with Elizabeth come out, clipboard in hand.  
  
"Listen, mom, I think that they have some news. Come on over, and I'll talk to you then." he hung up before he'd gotten a response, walking back into the waiting area.  
  
"Mr. McDermott?" the doctor said, looking at him intently.  
  
"Yeah?" Conner asked, praying she'd bring good news.  
  
"Well, about fifteen or so minutes after you left, your son was born. They're checking out his condition now. Afterwards, Elizabeth started having more problems, and started bleeding, and we had to do an emergency caesarian section to get your daughter out. She's not doing as well, and they've said that she's having trouble breathing on her own." The doctor looked sympathetic, checking his clipboard again, "You may see your girlfriend now, but you won't be able to the twins yet. Their conditions must be stable, first."  
  
Conner felt uneasy at his words, and he didn't even want to think about losing either of the twins now. At least Elizabeth was okay, which made things seem better. Five minutes later, he walked into Elizabeth's room, where she was laying down. She looked like she was asleep, and to looked more then a little pale to Conner. He sat down on the edge of her bed, the movement causing her eyes to open immediately, focusing on him.  
  
"How are they doing?" she demanded weakly, "They won't tell me what's going on."  
  
Conner nodded, squeezing her hand. "They think that Adam's going to be okay, they're checking him out right now. But the doctor said that Sarah was having trouble breathing on her own."  
  
A pained expression crossed her face, and Conner knew how upset she had to have been feeling at that moment. "Do… do they think that they'll be okay?" she said softly.  
  
"They haven't said anything, yet." Conner stated, regretting it when Elizabeth's face fell. "But I'm sure that they'll be okay, Liz." she nodded, obviously hurting with the idea that something could be wrong. Conner leaned in, and gave her a partial hug. "It'll be okay, sweetie, please don't worry."  
  
Elizabeth nodded, biting her lip. "Did you reach your mom?"  
  
Conner nodded, "She didn't even know that we were gone, I think. Just assumed that we were upstairs, asleep. She was really surprised, when I called."  
  
After talking for a few moments, one of the nurses came in, holding something wrapped in a blanket. "Miss Wakefield? Mr. McDermott?" she said, walking towards them. "I'm sure that you'll be glad to know that they've determined your son okay. He's definitely small, but he's okay, from what they can tell." she leaned down, placing the sleeping baby in Elizabeth's arms, and then, as quickly as she'd entered, she left again.  
  
"He's so cute!" Elizabeth said, her voice full of admiration. Conner looked at their sleeping son, knowing that she was right. He was tiny, but his skin glowed a rosy pink, and he looked sweet and healthy.  
  
"You're absolutely right." Conner agreed, taking him a few moments later. "Have they already gotten his name and information for the birth certificate?"  
  
Elizabeth nodded, "His as well as Sarah's, but I don't know what's going on." she looked at him, an upset look on her face. "I wonder why they haven't said anything about her, yet. It's been almost an hour."  
  
Conner bit his lip, looking away. He knew that whatever it meant, it couldn't mean anything good, but he didn't want to tell Elizabeth that. He turned back to her, and he had the sinking feeling that she'd realized that.  
  
  
  
It was a full week later before Elizabeth and Conner got to bring Adam home. While he seemed fairly healthy, and he was doing well, they'd just wanted to monitor him for a few days, and make sure no other problems would arise. Sarah, however, was a different story. She still wasn't breathing on her own, and the doctors hadn't had a very good outlook for her.  
  
Even at best, was that her lungs were underdeveloped, which had already been determined. They hadn't said it more then once to Elizabeth and Conner, either, but they were going to check for cystic fibrosis, which scared both young parents. They realized the severity that would bring for their daughter, and they knew it would shorten her life.  
  
But even with the heavy thoughts above them, they'd decided to cheer up as much as possible for Adam's homecoming. They were still staying with Conner's family, but they'd been alternating time at the hospital, and time working on their apartment. Many of their friends had helped them set up, and they were planning to move in before the end of the next week.  
  
It was nearly one when Elizabeth and Conner arrived home, baby Adam in tow. They were both in high spirits, and doing their best to ignore the problems going on with his sister. Carrying him in his carrier, Conner followed Elizabeth upstairs to her room. Even after she'd had the babies, he'd wanted her to take it easy for awhile.  
  
Setting him down on her bed, Elizabeth gently took him out, fast asleep, and putting him in his crib, set up in the corner of her room. "I'll bet he's going to look just like you." she said, laying him down, and tucking his baby blanket around him. She looked from Conner to her son, a look of admiration in her eyes.  
  
Conner smiled, walking over to her, and wrapping his arms around her, looking down at Adam and Elizabeth. Already, he knew that she'd make a great mother. In the week since she'd had the twins, she'd already proven that. "I'll take that as a compliment," Conner said, smiling, "But of course you know that Sarah is going to look like you, I'm sure." the few times their daughter had been off the ventilator, she'd been alert, her blue-green eyes alight in wonderment. Already, she'd began to grow a few wisps of blonde hair.  
  
"That is, if everything goes well," Elizabeth said quietly, her voice sober. She turned to face Conner. "I'm so scared," she admitted. "Not knowing if she's going to make it or not, it scares me so much. I already love both of them more then anything."  
  
Conner nodded, knowing the pain she was going through. He'd been through it too, as they ran all the test on her, breathing a sigh of relief as each came back negative. Only time would tell, though, and he knew that it was in the odds something would come back positive, that Sarah would have problems. For now, he prayed that wouldn't happen. "It's okay, Liz," he said, hugging her. "I'm sure things will be fine. Sarah's going to be a little fighter, and she'll make it though this."  
  
Right as Conner pulled her back, Adam began to wake from his slumber, and quickly began to cry. Gently, Elizabeth picked him up, patting his back. "I think he needs a bottle," she announced, looking over at Conner. "I just changed him." They'd decided it would be easier to bottle feed the babies, because once college started, things might have gotten too hectic for Elizabeth to breast feed both babies, so it had been determined they'd bottle feed the babies.  
  
After she'd fed him, she and Conner had both taken turns playing with him and holding him for almost an hour, and then Elizabeth had changed his diaper, and he'd fallen right asleep. Now, she was leaning back in the chair in the room, holding the sleeping baby. Conner watched her, admiring how good she was with him already, and he knew then, that no matter the outcome, they'd made the right choice.  
  
  
  
It was two days later, on a Wednesday, that Sarah had been off the ventilator for a full twenty four hours, and they doctors said she was doing better. Even more so, she'd tested negative for cystic fibrosis, which helped both Conner and Elizabeth sleep a little easier. The doctors thought that they'd be able to take her home at the beginning of the next week. Meanwhile, her brother had settled in pretty well at home, and he was a good baby, and didn't cry that often.  
  
Also, Elizabeth and Conner were planning to move into the apartment a week from Saturday, providing they'd had it set up by then. They hadn't had a chance to go back to work on it since before they'd brought Adam home, so that was what they were doing that day. Sarah had been doing good, and they hadn't felt the need to be with her at all times, so had decided to take the early afternoon to run down to SVU.  
  
After stopping at the hospital, they were on their way. It was shortly after noon when they arrived. Conner stepped out of the car, watching Elizabeth carefully get out Adam's carrier, and he grabbed the diaper bag. While he'd been back and forth for the last week, Elizabeth hadn't been to the apartment since before the twins had been born.  
  
"So," she asked, as the walked up to apartment 4C, "How much do you have done?"  
  
"A little over half." Conner stated, digging through his pocket for the key. He shoved it in the lock, and stepped in, expecting to see the plain white painted walls he'd left earlier, with the carpeting that they'd laid a few days before. They indicated Conner, as well as most of his and Elizabeth's friends… Tia, Andy, Angel, Evan, Maria, Ken, Jessica, as well as Jeremy and Melissa.  
  
"What the…" Conner said, his voice trailing. The whole place had transformed. The furniture they'd picked out was in place in the small living room area, the lights adjusted a covered. He wandered into the connected kitchen, yet it was the same thing. The place was finished. Wait a second. That's when Conner heard voices coming from the nursery.  
  
He looked at Elizabeth, an amused look on his face. "I think that something was being planned when we were gone." she nodded, her eyebrows raised.  
  
Moments later, Tia came out, a splotch of blue paint in her hair, and a streak across her cheek, a big grin on her face. "Hey!" she exclaimed, smiling. "Do you like what we did?  
  
Conner nodded, the pieces falling together. Their friends had been working their butts off to finish the apartment. "It's wonderful!" he exclaimed, looking at Elizabeth.  
  
She nodded, smiling. "I think that you guys out did yourselves." she hugged Tia. "It looks awesome. Thanks."  
  
At that moment, Jeremy came out, paint splattered himself. "Well if it isn't the new parents," he said, smiling. "Nice to see you guys. We're almost done, just painting the nursery, and we'll need furniture then." He smiled again, watching Jessica run out of the room, squealing.  
  
"Hey Liz!" she said breathlessly. "I hope that you guys like it! Melissa was painting me." she said, pointing to her hair, which had paint globs in it, and that's when she saw Adam, still in his carrier. "Aww… he's so cute!"  
  
Elizabeth smiled, leaning down to pick him up. He'd just began to wake up, his green eyes looking around alertly. "Do you want to hold your nephew?" she asked her sister, a smile on her face.  
  
"Sorry Liz, I'd love to," Jessica said, smiling, "But I'm a little messy. Another time."  
  
  
  
A week later, Conner, Elizabeth, and the twins finally settled into their apartment. Sarah had made excellent progress in her condition, and they'd been allowed to bring her home. Only the night before had they actually moved into the apartment, because they'd been there on and off, unpacking their things already.  
  
It was fairly early that morning, as Elizabeth changed Sarah into a fresh diaper, and put the tiny baby into a pink sleeper. While Adam was small, Sarah was even smaller then her brother. She barely weighed two pounds. Elizabeth picked her up, walking into the kitchen to get a bottle for her. Adam was still asleep, and so was Conner. She'd woken up early, and heard Sarah crying, so she'd went ahead and gotten her up.  
  
Sitting down on the couch, Elizabeth held her daughter as Sarah drank her bottle. She was almost done, when she heard a sleepy voice coming into the room.  
  
"Good morning," Conner said, still in his boxers and a T shirt. He walked up behind her, and gave her a kiss on the check. "And how are you, Sarah?" he said, looking down at the baby.  
  
Sarah gurgled happily, and Conner reached down to take her from Elizabeth. His girlfriend looked worn out, and he knew that she'd been up half the night with the twins. He'd been up too, but she'd finally shooed him away, saying that he'd need to be looking for a job the next day.  
  
"Honey," he said gently, "You look a little tired. I'll be glad to watch the kids for awhile, if you want to lay back down." he grabbed a diaper rag, and placed it on his shoulder as her burped Sarah. He looked back down at Elizabeth. Sarah really did take after her mother, and Conner knew that someday, she'd probably look just like her.  
  
"You wouldn't mind?" Elizabeth asked, smiling weakly at him.  
  
"Of course I don't," Conner said, hugging her with one arm. "We're in this together, remember? They're my kids, too."  
  
Giving him a kiss on the cheek, Elizabeth disappearing back into their bedroom. Conner watched her walk in, and turned back to Sarah, who was looking at him a sleepy expression on her tiny face. "Well, sweetie," he said, talking to her. "You look a little tired. What do you say that we put you back in bed?" he picked her up, and brought her in the room, Adam still asleep in his crib. Tucking his daughter in, Conner found she'd already fallen asleep. he quickly checked on Adam, and then left their room.  
  
  
  
The next day was a Sunday, and after being at the apartment for three days, both Elizabeth and Conner were ready to go back into Sweet Valley for the day. Elizabeth's mom hadn't had a chance to see her grandkids yet, and her father was going to be away for the day, so Alice had asked her daughter to bring them over. Meanwhile, Conner was in the process of quitting his job at Music Stop, because he needed something in the SVU area.  
  
Conner smiled at Elizabeth over the top of the Mustang as he strapped Adam and Sarah into the twin car seat they'd gotten. She smiled back, yet looked a little tired. He knew that it had been a hard week for her, and the day before Sarah had been sick and fussy, yet seemed fine now.  
  
"So, ready to see your mom?" he asked her, once they were on their way.  
  
Elizabeth smiled at him. "Oh, I'm not worried. Mom accepted this long ago, and I know that she'll just love Adam and Sarah, and insist that we let her baby sit for them."  
  
He laughed, looking over at Elizabeth. She looked really pretty that day, with her blonde hair loose and falling in her face. She'd been wearing it up lately, and Conner had forgotten how good it looked when she put it down. She was determined to lose the weight that she'd gained, and had already lost a few pounds. "You look great, Liz," he said sincerely.  
  
"Thanks," she said, looking back to the twins. Adam had promptly fell asleep, yet Sarah was still wide awake, her blue green eyes alive and dancing around. Already, she and Conner had figured out the differences between the twins, and knew that Adam was the calmer twin.  
  
A little over a half an hour later, Conner pulled his Mustang into his driveway, and parked it. He got out, immediately beginning to get the babies out of the car. As he grabbed them, it their carrier, Elizabeth pulled their diaper bags out of the seat. Both twins were fast asleep, dressed in matching sleepers, Sarah's yellow, and Adam's blue. They looked adorable.  
  
Conner walked into the kitchen, his mom in there, obviously waiting for them. "Hey kids," she said, softly, noting the babies were asleep. She smiled at both of them, as Conner set down the twins. Sarah's little eyes opened halfway at the sudden movement. The baby, still strapped in, quietly looked at her parents, and Elizabeth took her out, holding her. She promptly lay in her mother's arms, and fell back asleep.  
  
Mrs. Sandborn laughed. "She's adorable, kids," she said, smiling. "She resembles you, more though, Liz."  
  
Elizabeth smiled, passing the sleeping baby to her grandma. "Conner keeps telling me that, too," she said, laughing. "I think that Adam is going to look just like him."  
  
After talking with Conner's mom for about an hour, they were going to get on their way. Conner was going to drop Elizabeth off at her house, with the twins, so she could visit with her mom and sister, considering Jessica wasn't coming down to campus until the first of August, when the dorms opened.  
  
  
  
Almost the second that Elizabeth opened the door, Jessica was immediately on her, holding her niece and nephew, cooing at them. Melissa was also there, of course, but she held back for a few minutes, until Elizabeth passed Sarah to her. After a good ten minutes, Elizabeth was holding her son, talking to Jessica and Melissa. "So, where's mom?"  
  
Jessica waved her hand. "Oh, she went to the store, and should be back at anytime. She's excited about meeting these too." She pulled Sarah back, studying her tiny face. "But then, who wouldn't be? They're so cute!"  
  
Elizabeth laughed. "Everyone keeps commenting how cute they are," she started, passing a nearly asleep Adam to Melissa.  
  
"But then again, babies in general are cute," Melissa smiled, patting little Adam's back. "They're so sweet and innocent looking."  
  
About fifteen minutes later, Jessica had to excuse herself to go to work, and Melissa had gone ahead and gone with her. Elizabeth hadn't minded, because she knew that her mom would be back soon, and she wanted some time alone with her.  
  
"Hello? Is anyone home?" Mrs. Wakefields voice rang out from the kitchen. Elizabeth heard the rustle of plastic, presuming her mother had dropped a bag on the counter. She stood up, still holding Sarah, who for a change, was asleep when Adam wasn't. But then again, Adam had been sleeping non stop for most of the day.  
  
"Mom?" Elizabeth said, walking into the kitchen. Her mom turned around, a look of surprise on her face, but smiled immediately afterwards.  
  
"Hey sweetie," she said, walking towards her daughter. "It's great to see you. And who's this?" she asked, looking down at the baby, who was wrapped up in a little pink blanket.  
  
"This is Sarah," Elizabeth said, handing the baby gently to her mom, who looked between her daughter and granddaughter with admiring eyes.  
  
"Oh, she's adorable." Mrs. Wakefield cooed, looking down at her granddaughter, who sure enough, began to wake up, her little blue green eyes slowly opening. Once she looked awake, she let out a little cry, and Elizabeth took back her daughter, patting her tiny back.  
  
"Thanks." Elizabeth said, smiling at her mom. "And she's also the fussy twin," she explained, carefully brushing the soft wisps of Sarah's hair back on her head. "Adam is much calmer, and doesn't cry as much as her. He just sleeps a lot."  
  
Mrs. Wakefield laughed, following Elizabeth into the living room, where Adam had fallen asleep, a peaceful look on his little face. Elizabeth handed Sarah to her mom, as she took Adam out of the carrier. "This is Adam." she said, "He's going to look like Conner, I think."  
  
"I think that you're right," she said, studying her grandson. "And Sarah will look like you."  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "That's what Conner thinks, too. He's great with them, mom, really. I knew that he'd make a great dad, from the beginning." she looked at her mom again. "I just wish dad could accept this."  
  
Alice nodded, letting Sarah grasp her finger in her tiny hand. "I know, honey. But he's stubborn, which is a trait that includes all of the male species."  
  
Elizabeth laughed, handing her mom Adam and taking Sarah back into her arms. Elizabeth could already tell that her mom adored her grandkids, and that everything would be okay, at least with her mom.  
  
  
  
It was about an hour and a half later when Elizabeth had to begin packing the babies up to leave, because Conner was supposed to be there within the next fifteen minutes. She'd had a great visit with her mom, and neither Adam or Sarah had gotten fussy. After waking up, they'd stayed up for over an hour, and now were fast asleep. She herself was getting tired, too, and was in a way glad that she was leaving soon.  
  
"It was great that you could come over," her mom said, snapping closed the twins' diaper bag, and smiling at her daughter. "It was great seeing you, and of course, seeing the babies."  
  
Elizabeth smiled, sitting down on the couch. "Well, I was glad I could come over," she started, "I feel like it's been forever since I've seen you, and I wanted you to see the twins."  
  
They'd chatted for about five more minutes, when the kitchen door creaked open. Both heard the sound, but neither thought anything of it, assuming Jessica and Melissa were back. Heavy footsteps came into the living room, stopping abruptly. Finally, Elizabeth and her mom turned around.  
  
Ned Wakefield was standing there, a look of extreme displease on his face. No, that was putting it too mildly. He looked furious.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here!?" he roared. 


	15. Accepted

Chapter Fifteen  
  
Accepted  
  
Elizabeth bit her lip at her father's sharp tone, knowing that he was still fully mad at her. She looked quietly to her mom, who had only a look of surprise on her face. Elizabeth felt herself fill with dread, knowing that she was about to get yelled at.  
  
"You knew that you were not to come back to this house if you didn't give those babies up for adoption!" Ned said, his voice cold and expressionless. "Why are you here?"  
  
"I… um…" Elizabeth stammered. "I'm leaving, now. Bye." she muttered nervously, unable to look her father in the eye.  
  
"Go, and don't ever come back here again." Her father looked at her with disgust.  
  
"No, hold it, Ned." Mrs. Wakefield said, speaking for the first time. "If you should be yelling at anyone, it should be me. And you shouldn't be yelling at anyone in the first place, because it's you that's stepped out of line, not us. Yes, maybe Elizabeth did make a bad choice, but she doesn't deserve this for it. She's already take responsibility for her actions."  
  
Ned looked at his wife in shook, and then set his mouth in a firm line. His brown eyes were still cold when he turned around, stomping out of the room. Elizabeth heard him walk heavily down the hallway, and slam the door to the bedroom loudly. She winced at the loud noise, yet Adam and Sarah didn't wakeup from their peaceful slumber.  
  
Elizabeth looked over to her mother, a questioning look on her face. She didn't know what to say, or even think. Finally, she offered her a small smile. "Thanks," she said weakly.  
  
"No, thank you. I've wanted to say that to him for the last four months." Alice said firmly. "Yes, you did make a mistake, but he shouldn't dwell on it. You are his daughter, and he should show love and support for you, regardless."  
  
Elizabeth nodded, biting her lip again. She felt herself reach down to her hand, twirling the promise ring Conner had given her around on her finger. She was nervous about what her dad would say when he came back out. Her mom obviously had no intention of letting her leave until she and her father had at least talked about the situation.  
  
"Well," her mom started, changing the subject, "How are you and Conner settling in?"  
  
Elizabeth smiled, forcing herself to stop twisting her ring. "Very well, actually. We love the twins very much, and we've both take our share of the responsibility of caring for them. It may be sooner then we'd want to have kids, but we're doing okay."  
  
"I'm glad that you're doing well." her mom stopped, pausing. "Do you have any regrets?" she asked, her voice masked.  
  
Elizabeth stopped, thinking about what she should say. She knew what her mom meant, and to be honest, she'd worried about it before. "What do you mean?" she said, knowing perfectly well what she meant.  
  
"Well, I mean, you're in this now, sweetie. You've made your choice, and there's no turning back now, while on the other hand, Conner could leave, no strings attached." her mom's expression was concerned as she spoke those words, and Elizabeth knew as she didn't regret the decision that she'd made, she did worry about the future.  
  
Conner stopped as he was opening the Wakefield's door. There had been a note stuck onto it, that was in Elizabeth's handwriting, telling him to just come in because the twins had finally fallen asleep. He could hear Elizabeth's conversation with her mom, as they talked in muted tones.  
  
He had heard her ask Elizabeth if she regretted the decision that they'd made, and there had been a long, silent pause before she answered.  
  
"The most important thing is that he loves me and I love him. I don't think that he'd leave me, not now, after what we've been through together." she finally said, her tone firm. Conner knew that he shouldn't be listening, yet her words didn't do anything to him. He did have a horrible record with girls, just getting up and leaving. But he'd never do that to Elizabeth, would he?  
  
Conner could feel his mind, drifting in the future. What would things be like five years from then? he didn't have an answer. He didn't even know where Elizabeth and his relationship would be then. Would they still be together? Happily married? Separated…  
  
In Conner's minds eye, his thoughts conjured an image, a few years from then. Elizabeth, looking four or five years older, and two little kids, alone, living in a run down apartment. He could see the little girl, with short blonde hair and blue eyes, obviously an older Sarah, running towards her mother. In a small voice, she was asking when daddy was coming back. Sadly, Conner could hear Elizabeth say that he was gone, and wasn't going to be coming back…  
  
Conner shook the mental image. There was no way that could be happening. He would never do that to Elizabeth, and he knew it. But even with his thoughts reassuring, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.  
  
Swallowing hard, he crossed the foyer, and into the living room, where Elizabeth and her mom were sitting on the couch. "Hey, sweetie," he greeted her, coming up from behind her and kissing her on the cheek. Elizabeth smiled, motioning for her to sit down next to her.  
  
"Well, Conner," Mrs. Wakefield started, a half smile on her face. "I think that it's time that Ned and I have a talk, and you two need to be present. You've learned your lesson from the mistakes that you've made."  
  
Conner felt Elizabeth grab his hand, and he squeezed it back for equal measure. He knew that she was nervous at the prospect of a talk with her dad. "Umm…. is he here?" Conner started, "Because I know that he doesn't think all that highly of me."  
  
Mrs. Wakefield gave him a stern look, but it soften. "Stay. Yes, that's true, but if I have anything to do with that, his views are going to change. There are a lot of teenage guys out there that would have just left at the possibility of being a father."  
  
"Thanks," Conner said, and Elizabeth nodded in agreement, and at the same time, baby Sarah woke up, and began to cry. Immediately, Elizabeth leaned down, and gently lifted their tiny daughter.  
  
"Diaper change," she said, starting to stand, but Conner stopped her.  
  
"Let me do it, you've been doing it all afternoon." He took the baby from her, cradling her in one arm, and slinging the diaper bag over his shoulder.  
  
In the time that it took for Conner to get from the living room to the bathroom, he'd managed to calm his nerves in the slightest. He still felt uneasy thinking about the future, as he had earlier, and that with the combination of talking to Mr. Wakefield was making him uncomfortable. He quickly changed Sarah, and then picked her back up to take back into the room.  
  
Sitting back down on the couch, he continued to hold Sarah, because Adam had woken up, and Elizabeth was already holding him. For the next for moments, Mrs. Wakefield did her best to keep them in conversation. About five minutes later, Conner heard a door swing open, and Mr. Wakefield was in the living room in moments. His face was set in a frown, but when he saw Conner, it turned into a snarl of disgust.  
  
Elizabeth looked from her father to her boyfriend in concern. She knew her dad's impression of Conner, and that it wasn't a high one. At the moment, the look on her father's face was purely anger, while Conner looked on, a blank look on his face. He looked calm and collected, but Elizabeth knew that he was nervous of talking to her dad.  
  
"Well, Ned, you already know what I want to talk to you about, and I think that Elizabeth and Conner both understand, also." Mrs. Wakefield said calmly, standing up. "I'd like to first speak with you privately, and then with the kids." Getting up, she walked into the kitchen, Ned following close behind her.  
  
Conner immediately looked over to Elizabeth, her face pale and a nervous expression still on it, yet even more nervous now. He knew that she just wanted to get this over with, as quickly and painlessly as possible. For her sake, as well as the twins' sake, and even for his, he just hoped that her mom could knock some since into Mr. Wakefield. He reached over and squeezed her hand, still holding Sarah in one arm.  
  
"Hey, you okay?" He asked, looked at her concerned.  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "Yeah," She said, finally, "You? You look a little nervous."  
  
"I'm fine. Just a little scared that your dad isn't going to listen, and then take his opportunity to rip me limb from limb." Conner replied, watching her give him a tiny smile. God, she was gorgeous. It still amazed Conner that every time he saw her, he thought that she was every bit as pretty as the first time that he'd seen her.  
  
"I don't think that he'd go that far…" Elizabeth started, "But you know that he doesn't like you all that much. He thinks that everything that happened is your fault, even though it's every bit as much my fault as it is yours."  
  
Conner nodded, hearing the reassurance in her voice. He leaned over and gave her a quick one-armed hug, as not to hit Adam. He looked down at their tiny son, who'd fallen fast asleep. "Liz," he said, smiling, "I think that you can put Adam down now."  
  
Elizabeth looked down, laughing as she set him down in the twins' carrier. "I hadn't even noticed. Here, let me have Sarah, okay?"  
  
Conner handed her over to her mom, her little blue-green eyes half open, looking more then a little sleepy.  
  
A few minutes later, Sarah was also fast asleep. Elizabeth just continued to hold her, instead of setting her down and risk waking her up. She looked up from the baby to Conner, who was looking down at his little daughter, a proud smile on his face.  
  
Elizabeth caught his eye, and he grinned at her. She returned his smile. "She's such an adorable baby," he said, giving Elizabeth a quick kiss on her cheek, "But that's a given, considering she looks just like her mom."  
  
Elizabeth blushed, but was still smiling. It always made her happy whenever Conner complimented her, just knowing he still thought that she was pretty, even after all that they'd been through together. "Thanks."  
  
For the next few minutes, they continued talking about the twins. From behind them, at the entrance to the kitchen, they heard Mr. Wakefield clear his throat. "Elizabeth? Conner?" he said, his voice still on the firm side, but no longer harsh and angry.  
  
Elizabeth quickly turned around, biting her lip as she looked at her father. "Hi dad," she said weakly, hoping that her mother had been able to talk to him.  
  
Her dad walked around, sitting down on the couch opposite from them. "Well, I think that I need to start with an apology, to both of you." He paused, clearing his throat.  
  
Elizabeth and Conner shared a look, unprepared for that. Neither of them spoke, not knowing what they should say. Thankfully, they didn't have too.  
  
"I overreacted when you told me your were pregnant, Liz," he said, "I had the right to be mad, but throwing you out and then going on to disown you. You were never looking for pity, or acting like it was someone else's fault. You took responsibility for your action, made a plan, and did what you needed to. And I respect that."  
  
After a stunned silence, Elizabeth was finally able to speak. "Thanks, dad."  
  
"No, I should have accepted it from the beginning. You are my daughter, and I love you," he looked at her, smiling at her, for the first time in a long time. Then, he turned and focused his attention on Conner. "And I was wrong to judge you so quickly. You didn't walk away and leave Liz, as many boys in your position would have. You did a mature and responsible thing." He smiled at him. "I made the wrong assumption of you, and I have a good feeling that I'm going to regret that."  
  
Elizabeth gently handed Sarah to Conner, so she wouldn't wake up. She leaned over and gave her father a hug. "Thanks."  
  
Mr. Wakefield nodded. "I hope that we're able to put this in the past from now on, and do our best to overlook it."  
  
"I think that sounds like a good plan," Elizabeth said, taking Sarah from Conner. "Here," she said, gently placing Sarah into her father's arms. "This is Sarah, your granddaughter."  
  
Mr. Wakefield gently took the baby, cradling her in his arms. After a long silence, he looked up at Elizabeth. "She's adorable, honey." he smiled. "I'm proud to have her as my granddaughter."  
  
At that moment, Elizabeth knew that if any accounts between them had been unsolved, if either had doubts or concerns, they'd been erased at that moment. The future was looking a lot brighter.  
  
  
  
Jessica looked around the familiar coffee house as she scrubbed down the counter and talked to Melissa. In some ways, it brought her that easy feeling of comfort, but the scares from when Will raping her were as fresh as ever. She knew that even three months later, she still was far from being over it. Since the night that Will had tried to kill her, she'd only been there two times, and each time, the pain and memories were all too real.  
  
"Jess," Melissa asked suddenly, probably picking up on what she was thinking, "Are you okay? You just suddenly began to look pale."  
  
Jessica sighed, "Just thinking about… everything, you know?"  
  
"Too many memories?" Melissa asked, quickly making sure Jeremy wasn't anywhere in sight. He knew how hard it was for Jessica, and he'd tried to get her to take another job when he'd seen how hard for her it was to be there. Jessica had put up a fight, saying that it was good for her, and would help her get over it.  
  
"Kind of," Jessica said, throwing her towel down on the counter. "Just a sec." She walked over to the counter, and quickly took the one customer's order. Other then a few people, the café wasn't crowded at all. As soon as she'd taken the man's money, and given him his coffee, Jessica returned to talking to Melissa.  
  
"Okay," Melissa said, as Jessica sat down across the counter from her, "Jess, I know you're going to hate me saying this, because I know it's going to be hard. You have to move on, before you let this destroy you again."  
  
"I've moved on." Jessica said, biting her lip, knowing in her heart that Melissa was right, but she couldn't admit it, then she'd actually have to do something about it.  
  
"No, you haven't." Melissa, said, sighing, "I know that it's hard, I'm going through it, too, and you know it. Yes, your scars may run deeper, but mine are just as painful. If you don't deal with it now, you never will. The longer you wait, the harder it will be."  
  
"I'm fine!" Jessica protested firmly, spinning on her stool and getting up. "I'm over it, okay?" the anger in her voice was apparent.  
  
Melissa looked at, knowing what she wanted to say to her friend, but she knew that she couldn't. She didn't want to get Jessica anymore upset. "Okay Jess, whatever you say," she said quietly, hoping Jessica would overlook it.  
  
She did, turning around to wipe down the counter. Melissa shook her head in frustration, knowing she'd been defeated, once again. She wanted to help her best friend, but she knew that she couldn't until Jessica was willing to help herself.  
  
  
  
That night at dinner, things between Jessica and Melissa were awkward. Jessica knew that Melissa was right, but she wasn't ready to do anything about it yet, and Melissa was just worried about her friend.  
  
Elizabeth, Conner and the twins had stayed for dinner, and Mrs. Wakefield had also invited Jeremy to come over and eat. He'd immediately picked up on Melissa and Jessica's discomfort, and Elizabeth had also, a few minutes later. By the end of the meal, Jessica had a good feeling that both Conner and her parents had picked up on her and Melissa's little fight.  
  
After dinner, Jessica had been happy to help her sister out with the babies, while Jeremy and Conner were in an intense debate over something only relevant to the male species, which proved as Mr. Wakefield joined in. Melissa had volunteered to help Mrs. Wakefield wash dishes and clean up the kitchen, and Jessica could only imagine what she was telling her. Jessica let out an inaudible sigh, knowing that Melissa was right. She wasn't over it, but she also wasn't ready to talk about it, either.  
  
"Something wrong, Jess? Things were more then a little strained between you and Melissa at dinner earlier." Elizabeth looked at Jessica, a questioning look on her face. "I thought that you guys were best friends, but I don't think that you said one word to each other the entire time. Spill. What's going on?"  
  
Jessica bit her lip, for one of the few times in her life, wishing she and Elizabeth weren't twins. Her sister could almost always read her mind, and at that time, Jessica wasn't in the mood to really talk to anyone. "She's being a little too pushy about trying to get me to talk about… you know. Everything that's happened, and I'm not ready to."  
  
Elizabeth nodded, setting a sleeping Adam down in the twins' carrier, and picking up Sarah, who'd just woken up. "I understand your point, Jess, but Melissa's right. You do need to talk about it, and try to get over it. It's never going to go away, but you can do your best to move on."  
  
Jessica had almost known she'd would have said that. "I know," she said finally, after a long pause. "But I don't want to talk about it right now, and ruin the evening. I'm having a good time, and talking about Will Simmons just puts me in one hell of a bad mood, you know that."  
  
Thankfully, Elizabeth dropped the subject. She cradled Sarah in one arm, and took a bottle out of the twins' diaper bag. Sarah was waking up from a half asleep state, her blue-green eyes shining, and looking alertly around the room. Jessica couldn't help but smile at her baby niece. She looked so adorable, dressed in a pink sleeper, and wrapped in a yellow and pink baby blanket.  
  
"Hey baby." Jessica heard Jeremy's voice from over her shoulder. She turned around, where he was leaning against the back of the couch. She smiled at him, letting him give her a quick kiss before he sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. Jessica gave him a smile, watching Conner sit down next to Elizabeth, and take Sarah from her.  
  
"Where's Melissa?" Jeremy asked quietly. Jessica bit her lip.  
  
"Helping mom, still. We got in a little argument today…" Jessica looked at him with pleading eyes. "It was kind of dumb, and I don't want to talk about it."  
  
He nodded, dropping the subject, and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Your dad's been in a good mood."  
  
Jessica smiled. "I'm just glad that he finally forgave Liz. It was horrible when I was afraid to talk to my own sister because I didn't want to get in any trouble." She looked over at Elizabeth and Conner, talking quietly, Conner holding Sarah. They both looked so happy together. She knew exactly why, too, from the proud look on Conner's face as he looked at his daughter.  
  
Jessica knew that she should be happy for her sister, that she and Conner were handling the situation well, and didn't have any regrets. The loving look on Conner's face was almost too much. She'd never get to see that look on Jeremy's face, not by her. Jessica felt her stomach tighten, and she almost felt ready to throw up.  
  
Jessica knew Jeremy loved kids. She did too, of course, but there wasn't anything that she could do about having any. But on the other hand, it would be more then easy for him to dump her and move onto another girl that he could start a family with. For now, yes, he loved her, but Jessica knew that after they went on to college, he'd get bored with her and her emotional baggage.  
  
Stop it, Jessica commanded herself, Jeremy would never do that to you, and you know it. But she couldn't shake the thought. She felt sick, and wanted to get out of there.  
  
"Excuse me," Jessica said quickly, standing up, "I feel a little sick. Liz, I'll call you tomorrow." as calmly as she could, she walked up the stairs and straight to her room.  
  
  
  
It had taken a lot for Jeremy to contain his composure for the last fifteen minutes of Elizabeth and Conner's visit, after Jessica had gone upstairs, saying she felt sick, but he knew she was lying. As soon as Elizabeth and Conner had left with the twins, he'd found Melissa and made her tell him why she and Jessica had gotten into an argument. He'd had a good idea what it was over, and he'd been right. Now, he had a feeling that the reason Jessica had left so suddenly was from being around the babies. He knew how much she loved kids, and how much it had hurt her when she'd found out that she wouldn't be able to have any after what Will had done to her.  
  
"Jessica?" Jeremy said, softly knocking on the door. "Can I come in?"  
  
"Yeah, it's open."  
  
Jeremy pushed in, and sat down on her bed, next to her. She was lying down, and her eyes were red from crying. It killed him to see her looking so disheveled. "Jess, I know what this is all about," he said slowly, focusing his eyes on hers. "And I agree with Melissa. You haven't been doing that well, and you need to move on, or you'll never be able to get through your life."  
  
Jessica looked up at him. "I'm fine," she said, pleading, her voice weak. Jeremy just wanted to reach down and hold her, but he knew that if he did, he'd never make a point with her. He missed the old, happy Jessica, and he'd do whatever it took to get his girlfriend back to her old self.  
  
"Look, I know that it was hard for you to see Liz and Conner so happy together, and I know how much that you love kids. It'll be hard for you, Jess, but there are other options, like adoption." Jeremy said, as she sat up, looking at him intently.  
  
"Yeah," she said quietly, looking away. "There are, especially for you." she looked up, the tears fresh in her eyes. "After a year or so, you'll be sick of it. You'll move on to some other girl, and start a family with her, because I can't give you that. It won't matter whether or not you love me then."  
  
Jeremy felt his heart thud in his chest. "No, Jessica. I wouldn't. It doesn't matter. I don't love you for that, I love you because you're you. I know that I couldn't live without you, and as long as you don't break up with me, I'll never do it to you. Whether or not you can have kids, I still plan to marry you when we finish college. A few years after that we'll probably adopt some kids and give them a good home." Jeremy pulled her toward him, holding her in his arms. Every word that he'd spoken was the truth. He loved her more then anything, and he knew he always would.  
  
"Thanks." Jessica said, not being able to keep herself from crying. "I feel the same way about you. I wouldn't have made it this far if it wasn't for you. And because you want me too, I'm willing to get help. I know that I need it. But there's one condition."  
  
Jeremy stroked her hair wordlessly, then kissed her. "What is it?"  
  
"I can't do this alone. I need some support, from you in particular. You're one of the only people that's behind me one hundred percent." Jessica looked up at him.  
  
"I wouldn't dream of not," Jeremy said, kissing her. "I love you, Jess."  
  
Jessica leaned against him, knowing things would be better soon. "I love you, too." 


	16. Moving On

Chapter Sixteen  
  
Moving On  
  
"Hey, Jess, is this the last box?" Jeremy asked, dropping a heavy box on the floor of Jessica's new dorm room. His girlfriend appeared in the doorframe of her closet, dressed in short blue jean shorts and a red halter top, her blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail.  
  
Jessica squinted at the box. "Yeah," she finally said, "I think that's the last one. You can just drop it there."  
  
Jeremy followed her instructions, dropping the box, and then jogging over to her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck. Jessica giggled, pulling back and walking into her bedroom.  
  
"What now?" Jeremy asked, sitting down on her bed, just admiring the smile on her face. Slowly but surely, Jessica was turning back into her old self.  
  
"My dresser." Jessica said, hauling a box into the center of the room. She opened it to reveal some of her pajamas, bras and underwear. "Want to take on this box?" she asked, watching her boyfriend blush.  
  
"Sure," Jeremy said finally. "I guess that I can handle it."  
  
Jessica smiled again, leaving the floor and sitting down on the bed, right onto her boyfriend's lap.  
  
After kissing her for several minutes, Jeremy pulled back, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "How are you doing?" he asked quietly, so her new roommates wouldn't hear. They didn't know of the events of the last year, and Jessica preferred that it stayed that way.  
  
"Okay," she said, squirming on his lap. "I had a fairly hard group session last night." Ever since they'd talked about her getting help, Jessica had been going to group therapy sessions with other rape survivors. While she was doing better, Jeremy know that she was still emotionally fragile. He knew that the therapy helped her, but sharing her story and talking about her feelings was hard for her. It had helped her to know that she wasn't alone, though, that there were other women that had been raped and had survived.  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?" Jeremy asked, "I noticed you didn't come home and talk about it last night like you usually do."  
  
"We had to share our story in front of everyone," she said, quietly. "I started crying in the middle of it. I still feel ashamed of what happened."  
  
Jeremy nodded, knowing how hard it was for her. He also knew that she'd always be emotionally scarred, but would someday be able to move on with her life. "I know it was hard for you, sweetie."  
  
Jessica leaned her head against his shoulder. "It was. I wish that this hadn't have happened."  
  
Jeremy patted her back. "I wish that it hadn't have happened, too. You didn't deserve it." He held her close, giving her a kiss. "But please don't feel ashamed of yourself. I know that it's natural to have feelings like that, but you did nothing wrong, and you have to remember that."  
  
Jessica nodded. "You're right, but I still don't feel comfortable talking about it, especially in front of a group of strangers."  
  
"I see where you're coming from." Jeremy said, releasing his hold on her. "So I'll drop it for now."  
  
Jessica nodded, giving him a slight smile. "Thanks. You always know what I'm thinking, and what to say to me. And whatever you say always makes me feel better."  
  
Grinning, Jeremy moved her off his lap, and moved himself to the floor. Jessica followed him. "See," he said, "I'm your boyfriend. It's my job to read your mind." Jeremy smiled, reaching down into the box she'd gotten for him, and dug out a frilly, lacy pink bra. "Now," he said, playfully teasing her, "Why don't we sort these things out and put them away?"  
  
Jessica blushed, taking away her bra and swatting her boyfriend across his chest with her hand. "Fine, I guess that we can, but would you please try to behave? I don't want my roommates thinking that you're an overgrown jock with a one track mind."  
  
Jeremy smiled, giving her a deep kiss. When he finally pulled away from her, both breathing hard, Jessica just rolled her eyes slightly. "I'm done clowning around now." Jeremy said, "I don't want your roomies getting the wrong impression of me, at least not this soon in the year."  
  
"Yeah," Jessica said, sweetly, "But at the rate that you're going, I'm starting to wonder myself." Jeremy tried to look at her sternly, but it didn't work. He laughed, and pulled her into his lap, and started to kiss her like crazy.  
  
Later that evening, Jessica and Jeremy, along with Melissa had made their way over to Elizabeth and Conner's apartment. They'd been living there for a month and a half now, and Jessica knew they were doing fairly well.  
  
"Hey Liz!" Jessica chimed happily, walking in with Jeremy at her side. His hand rested familiarly at her hip, and Melissa followed behind them. She was one of Jessica's three roommates this year, and they were still close friends. She'd lived with the Wakefields all summer, as even now, her parents didn't support the choices that she'd made.  
  
"Be quiet!" Elizabeth hissed, her expression worn out and tired. Jessica looked at Conner, waiting to see if he'd offer them an explanation. He just shrugged, looking over to Elizabeth.  
  
"She just got the twins asleep for a nap. I think that they gave her a hard day." Conner said, "I just got home about half an hour ago." Jessica nodded, following her sister and Conner into the kitchen, with Jeremy and Melissa following. Jessica looked over at Elizabeth, waiting for her to confirm if what Conner had said was right.  
  
"He's right. Neither of them behaved well, or would go down for a nap all day." Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I think that they take a great pleasure in wearing me out, seeing they do it often."  
  
Jessica laughed, knowing that Elizabeth's act was mostly a front. She knew how much her sister loved her son and daughter. She also knew how much Conner loved them, too. So far, they'd been great parents.  
  
"How was your guys' day?" Elizabeth asked, "Are you all moved into your dorm rooms now?"  
  
"I know that I am." Jessica said proudly. "Jeremy helped me. We had a lot of work that we did."  
  
Melissa laughed. "Helped you? I thought that he was there as a reason to take a break from cleaning things and putting them away." She looked over toward Elizabeth and Conner. "Those two spent more time making out then moving in."  
  
Jessica felt her face flush crimson, and looking behind to Jeremy, she could tell he was also blushing. She glared at Melissa, as Elizabeth and Conner laughed. Her friend managed to maintain her look of innocence for all of thirty seconds, before she too burst out laughing.  
  
Conner looked at them, a sly grin on his face. "Oh, we should lay off the two of them." he grinned, "But Jeremy, it's good to know you've figured out that's the way to deal with your girlfriend." He teased, as Elizabeth reached over and playfully smacked him on the arm.  
  
"Bad." She said, laughing as Conner grinned, scooting his chair closer to hers and moving her onto his lap. He gave her a kiss on the cheek.  
  
Melissa looked from Jeremy and Jessica over to Elizabeth and Conner. "See, that'll be the good thing about college. More guys." She grinned. "You people are all paired off, so I need to go and find me a man."  
  
"Hey!" Jeremy said suddenly. "I've got an idea. Just come over and hang around my dorm sometimes. There are a lot of nice guys around there."  
  
Melissa smiled. "I like the way that you think."  
  
Jessica leaned back against her boyfriend, as she was sitting on his lap. "you never did tell me about your roommate. How is he?" Jeremy had moved into his dorm in Reid Hall the day before, and by the time Jessica had to leave to drive back to Sweet Valley so she could go to her group meeting, his roommate still hadn't arrived.  
  
"Oh, Matt?" Jeremy asked, and continued, 'He's really nice. He's from Florida, so it took him awhile to get here. He's also on the football team." Jeremy smiled. "And the guys in the dorm next door are nice. They're juniors… their names are Danny and Tom."  
  
Jessica smiled. "Do you think that you guys will get to be friends?"  
  
Jeremy nodded. "I think that me and Matt are already on the way to being them. We're both thinking about majoring in pre-med, and we're going to be on the team together."  
  
Melissa frowned. "What about the other two guys, Tom and Danny? I don't know if I want to take on another football player." she blushed. "No offense or anything, Jeremy."  
  
"None taken. I know what you mean, and if I was you, I'd be more then a little leery of football players, too," Jeremy said warmly. "But I mostly talked to Tom. He's really nice, but I take he's also fairly quiet, too. He's a journalism major, and works at the campus station."  
  
"It's WSVU, right?" Elizabeth asked, interjecting. Jeremy nodded. "That's cool. It'd be fun to work there."  
  
"He sounds nice," Melissa said, "I might have to take you up on your idea."  
  
The others laughed. "Speaking of work," Jessica asked, "how's your new job going, Conner?" After moving into their apartment, Conner had been able to get a job at anther branch of the music store he'd worked at back in Sweet Valley.  
  
"Good." he said simply. "It's not much different then working at the other store, you know." Because they'd need someone with the twins at all times, Elizabeth wasn't going to work until second semester. They'd both even worked out their class schedules so that someone would always be home with Adam and Sarah, or Jessica or someone else would be able to baby-sit.  
  
  
  
About an hour later, Jessica, Jeremy and Melissa had left. No more then ten minutes later, Sarah had woke up crying, so Conner and Elizabeth had went ahead and woke Adam up, and they'd fed them dinner. Now they were trying to get them ready for bed, so they could have some time alone together.  
  
Conner was drying Adam off as Elizabeth was washing Sarah up. Already, she'd proved herself to be a great mom. "I'm sorry that I wasn't around to help you today," Conner said, as he changed Adam into a fresh diaper.  
  
"Don't worry about it." Elizabeth said, "You had to work. I don't mind watching them, and you now it."  
  
"Yeah," Conner said, looking over at her. "I know how much you love them." he stopped, looking at her. "Do you have any regrets?"  
  
Elizabeth paused. "No." she said, finally, "I love the twins, and I love you. I'm glad things have worked out. We're both happy, and we're doing good. I do wish that we would have waited a few more years, but I'm not mad that I made the decisions I made. I think that that things were meant to happen like this." She pulled Sarah out of the infant tub in the sink, and wrapped the gurgling baby in a soft pink towel, drying her off from her bath.  
  
"I'm glad that you feel that way, because I do too. I love you and the twins more then anything." Conner said sincerely, sliding Adam into a blue sleeper. Already, his eyes were at half mast, and he gazed sleepily from his dad to his mom. He was the easy going, mild-mannered twin, while Sarah was much more alert and slightly fussy. The twins had already established very different personalities.  
  
Elizabeth smiled, her eyes lighting up happily. Conner took a few seconds to admire how great she looked. She'd lost nearly all of the weight from the pregnancy, and was pretty much back to looking like her old self. It was apparent that little Sarah was going to take after her mother, she already had the blonde hair and sparkling blue-green eyes.  
  
"Thanks," Elizabeth said, snapping closed the buttons on Sarah's sleeper and picking up the baby. "I'm happy with the way things are going." She walked out of the bathroom and into the babies' room, setting Sarah down in her crib, and Conner followed with Adam. It only took a few minutes for both babies to be fast on their way to falling asleep. Leaving the door open partway, Elizabeth and Conner left the room, retreating in the living room.  
  
Elizabeth sat down heavily on the sofa, and Conner sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her. "I'm sorry that the twins gave you a hard time today." he kissed her, and she smiled slightly.  
  
"Yeah, they did. Adam was okay, he just wouldn't sleep. Sarah, on the other hand, was fussy all day, and felt the need to burst out crying every thirty minutes." Elizabeth snuggled closer into her boyfriend's arms.  
  
Conner smiled, hugging her. "I'm glad that they finally settled down for you." he kissed the top of her head. "It was nice seeing your sister and Jeremy and Melissa."  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "I'm glad that Jess seems to be doing better. It's great that she finally is getting help dealing with what happened with Will."  
  
"Yeah, it is good. She's a sweet person, and didn't deserved to have that happen to her." Conner said, pulling back, and taking her hands in his.  
  
Elizabeth bit her lip. "Yeah, she didn't. Speaking of which, how's Megan doing?"  
  
"Pretty good, now that she's in group, too. She's really started to look up to Jessica, you know. Once she found out that Jessica was trying to move on and come to terms with what happened, she found the courage to do the same. She's handling it well, for the most part." Conner informed, thinking about his little sister for a few moments. He'd had no clue that she'd even been raped, and finding out that she was finally getting help made him feel better.  
  
"That's good, I'm glad that they're doing better. I'm also glad that Jess has Jeremy, because I don't think that she'd have made it if she didn't have him. They're good together." Elizabeth amended.  
  
"He's a nice guy, and I like him. Which you know is rare for football players," he said, teasing. Conner leaned forward and kissed her softly.  
  
"Yeah," she said, giggling slightly. "I think that I've picked up on that by now. But it's good that she found someone that really loves her. I'm lucky, too, because I found someone that really loves me."  
  
Conner wrapped his arms around her. "Oh, you did?"  
  
"Yeah, I did," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. It was times like these, when they were together, that made Elizabeth love Conner even more. "I love you."  
  
Conner ran a hand through her blonde hair, knowing how much he loved her. More then anything. "I love you, too."  
  
Elizabeth kissed him again, enjoying the silence for a few moments. "You know, I really think that everything is going to work out for us and the twins." she said, feeling relief in knowing that they had made it this far.  
  
"It will work out," Conner said, reading her mind, "We've made it this far, and I know that we'll make it from now on. I don't have a single regret. I had so many doubts in myself, that I worried we wouldn't even make it to now. But I guess we did, and I think that it's made us stronger.  
  
"It has," Elizabeth said, "It really has. I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me. You're one of a rare few that wouldn't bail when this happened. Instead, you've been so great that I can't even remember why I worried."  
  
Conner nodded, rubbing her back softly. "You don't have to thank me. I did it because I love you, and you know it." he kissed the top of her head. "And I promise that I always will, regardless of what happens in the future."  
  
Elizabeth closed her eyes. "I know that there could never be another person that I loved like I love you, and that's why I'm not worrying about the future… because I know that I will love you then, and that I have your love, and support, too."  
  
  
  
"I had a great evening, sweetie," Jeremy said, encircling his arms around his girlfriend's tiny waist, and feeling her rest her head on his shoulder. After going over to Elizabeth and Conner's apartment, they'd dropped Melissa off at their dorm, and he and Jessica had gone out for dinner. Now, as the night drew to a close, he had to drop her off before going back to his dorm room. Leaving wasn't something that he wanted to do.  
  
"I did too." Jessica replied, enjoying the moment with him. She didn't want him to leave, but she knew that he had to, because it was the first night of enforced dorm curfew, so he'd have to leave.  
  
"I'll see you in the morning, right?" Jeremy asked, letting go of her and walking up the first few steps to the entrance of the building with her. He stopped, feeling the slight breeze. Otherwise, the August night was hot, almost too warm. But it was cooling off now, and Jeremy saw Jessica shiver, only wearing a tank top.  
  
"You'll see me in the morning." Jessica agreed, snuggling into his arms when he pulled her to him. She leaned his head against his shoulder, wishing that he didn't have to leave that night. They'd had a great night together, and she knew if he stayed over, then she'd probably open up to him some and talk to him about some of the things that she'd been feeling lately. He'd been there for her every step of the way, and Jessica knew that if it wasn't for him, then she wouldn't have even begun dealing with having Will rape her.  
  
"Cold, sweetie?" Jeremy asked, looking down when she tilted her head up. He kissed the top of her head, smelling the sweet scent of the freshly cleaned blonde hair.  
  
"Not anymore." Jessica murmured. "I wish that you didn't have to leave, I'd rather stay with you tonight."  
  
"I wish that I could, because that's what I'm in the mood for tonight." Jeremy said gently, walking up the next few steps, his arm still around her waist. If it was this hard to let go of her, Jeremy could imagine that he'd be spending every moment of his free time with her, now that they didn't have parents breathing down their necks and telling them what to do.  
  
"I love you." Jessica said, letting go of him finally and slipping her hands in his, giving them a firm squeeze.  
  
"I love you, too." Jeremy said, squeezing them back, and looking deeply into her soft blue green eyes. She stared back for a moment, and then he leaned forward, and gave her a kiss, pulling her towards him again. When they broke apart, Jessica looked up at him with a hazy smile.  
  
"Do you think that we're going to be able to separate tonight?" She asked, teasing him slightly. Jeremy laughed, brushing his fingers through her hair.  
  
"I don't know. I know that I don't want to." He kissed her again. "Want to meet in the student union for breakfast tomorrow?"  
  
Jessica nodded. "I don't want you to leave, either. Breakfast sounds good, as long as I'm spending time with you."  
  
Jeremy nodded. "Want me to come by at seven, sweetheart?"  
  
Jessica scrunched up her nose. "Seven? That's insanely early. Try, like, ten or something. That's plenty early for me."  
  
Jeremy laughed. "I'll come by at eight thirty. Melissa will be awake and let me in, and I'll wake you up. I'll be the first thing that you see in the morning."  
  
"You think of everything." Jessica said, giving him another kiss, before fully breaking apart. She walked over to the glass doors of the dorm building, and blew him a quick kiss before she headed inside.  
  
  
  
"Hey baby, it's time to wake up," Jeremy said for what had to have been the twentieth time the next morning. Jessica was yet to show any signs of life.  
  
"Go away." she finally mumbled, groggily moving the pillow to cover her head. Jeremy put his hand on her shoulder again, giving her a slight shake. He hear Melissa give a snicker from the door, and he smiled, amused. Jessica would never be known as a morning person, that was sure.  
  
"It's me, Jess. Wake up." Jeremy prompted again, and she finally sat up, rubbing her eyes, and then turning to face him, still looking half-asleep.  
  
"Good morning," she said, fully opening her eyes.  
  
"Good morning to you, too, honey." Jeremy smiled at her, standing up and offering her a hand to stand up. She was in a pair of leopard print pajamas, and he thought that she looked absolutely adorable. "Hungry?"  
  
"I don't know. I haven't tasted the food at the student union yet." Jessica said, stripping off her shirt and pulling on a white baby T-shirt, and slid off her leopard print boxers and into a pair of cut-off jean shorts. "If it's really gross, then I don't think that I'll be very hungry." she wrinkled her nose and made a little gagging noise.  
  
Jeremy laughed, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck. Squealing, she pushed him away, as she was trying to brush out her hair.  
  
"How bad could it be?" Jeremy said innocently. "It's basically one of two places on campus to eat. Therefore, most of the students have to eat there, and I don't think that SVU has had too many reports of student death to food… but then again, that would be the type of thing that they'd hide from the general public…"  
  
"Jeremy!" Jessica snapped. "Bad. Don't gross me out before we get there! Otherwise, I won't have anything to eat for the next four years." Jeremy laughed, wrapping an arm around her and letting his hand rest easily on her hip.  
  
"What? Did I do something wrong?" Jeremy asked, stopping at the door, and moving her around to face him, wrapping his arms around her and resting them at the small of her back. He looked down at her, staring intently into her eyes.  
  
Jessica studied him carefully, looking at the sweet smile he had on his face. "Ugh! Every time you do that to me I become powerless and give in to you. Why do you have to have that effect over me?"  
  
"I don't know." Jeremy said, bending down to kiss her softly. "But I do like it, because every time I do something bad and you yell at me, I just wrap my arms around you and stare down at your eyes, and I get off the hook!"  
  
Jessica smiled, taking his hand and leading him back to her bed. She sat down, legs crossed, on top of her quilt, and Jeremy sat down next to her. "You know," Jessica started quietly, looking across the room to make sure the door was shut, "Back when we got back together, I was almost positive it was going to be another three, four week deal and we'd be over with for good. Obviously, I was wrong."  
  
She paused, taking a deep breath, and taking his hand and holding it in hers. "Then, I guess I really did fall in love with you. A weeks later, Will raped me, and everything changed for both of us, and our relationship. I didn't think that you would want to stay with me and help me through all the emotional turmoil that I knew I'd be going through in the next weeks, months, even years to come."  
  
Jessica paused. "I really messed that one up, didn't I? I guess what I'm really trying to say is that you proved a lot of people, even me, wrong, when you helped me through everything. And I can't thank you enough for doing that."  
  
Jeremy nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. He'd had so many doubts in himself, as well, from the moment that he'd promised her he'd be there for her. Looking back, he knew that he'd made the right choice, and he'd changed because of it. "I know what you're saying, honey, I had so many of the same doubts myself. At the time, I had no clue whether or not I'd end up helping you, or breaking your heart more. But you don't have to thank me for doing what I thought was right."  
  
Jessica nodded, knowing that if there had even been a doubt of the future left in her mind, it had been crushed now. Jeremy was the guy she loved, the guy that had been there through everything, the guy that she'd always love and always would be there. "I love you so much." she said softly.  
  
Jeremy hugged her to him, closing his eyes and breathing in the fresh scent of her hair. "I love you, too. And I always will."  
  
  
  
Omigod! People, can you believe it? Seventy-two pages later, I finally finished it! Well, this book at least. Wait, does that sound scary? Well, this is the last book set in the time of senior year. The next book that I'll be writing that adds onto this will be set four years in the future. I have the plot etched out, and am ready to begin writing soon… that is, if I can come up with a title! So, any comments, suggestions, raves or rants should be sent to be at elle@svsy-majic.net. Please send me feedback, or I might feel unloved. Anyway, sorry for the wait of a million years for this chapter, my finale, my wonderful (dare I say that?) creation! But, there's been some serious complications to my life lately, and sometimes writing felt a little too real to me, so I had to give myself a break. But, since I'm not starting book four until Christmas time, I need to send out my thanks… to Katie and Esther, my writing buddies, to the other Katie for hosting my never-ending novel, to the people that sent me e-mail about my story, and to the people that took time to read it! All of you, you're the best! It's because of you that my writing improved (you can see the difference. Look at The Love Game. Look at The Price of Love. See it?) and I kept writing. I really can say that I love you guys!  
  
-Elle 


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